Fans Slam HGTV for Canceling Beloved Shows: “If I Wanted Drama I’d Watch Bravo”
Anyone who’s a home decor or DIY die-hard has likely tuned into HGTV at some point. The channel has served as a source of inspiration and an educational resource on the airwaves with quick tips and pointers for sprucing up your home. But as the way we watch TV changes, the network has begun to evolve, much to the disappointment of some long-time viewers. And in the wake of the latest shakeup at the channel, fans are continuing to slam HGTV as it’s started canceling some of its most beloved shows.
RELATED: Frustrated HGTV Fans Slam “Fake Scenes” on Popular Series: “The Show Is Clearly Staged.”
HGTV just axed more than a dozen of its most popular shows.
The drawn-out and disappointing demise of traditional television is far from breaking news. With more viewers cutting the cord and moving towards streaming options, linear networks have continued to morph beyond their original points of interest and veer into completely different territories (such as paranormal programming replacing wanderlust fodder on the Travel Channel).
However, it appears that even bright spots in some channels’ lineups are no longer safe. In recent weeks, HGTV announced it was canceling more than a dozen of its most notable renovation shows, Deadline reports.
The list of axed programming includes the half-decade-long-running Christina on the Coast; four-season-old Battle on the Beach and Bargain Block; the three-season (and recently Daytime Emmy-nominated) Married to Real Estate; the two-season The Flipping El Moussas; and the single-season Izzy Does It.
The latest changes at the network are even affecting some of its most recognizable names, including Christina Haack (formerly Hall) and reality TV power couple Tarek El Moussa and Heather Rae El Moussa.
RELATED: HGTV Fans Sound Off on the 7 Most Annoying Renovation Trends: “Drive Me Crazy.”
And HGTV fans are NOT happy with the changes.
Fans are now taking to the internet to call out the channel for its trajectory towards a less decor-centric future. In a recent thread posted to the r/HGTV subreddit, users discussed the news of the latest cancellations, including one who said the writing was on the wall for the network—and not in a DIY-design-forward kind of way
“Maybe I’m the outlier, but I felt the production focused way too much on the people and the fake drama that was laughable,” they write in the top-upvoted comment. “I watch HGTV for the real estate and for the renovations. I do not watch them to learn about Sally’s favorite pattern or Bobby’s three-point shooting. If I wanted drama, I’d watch freaking Bravo. I don’t get what they didn’t understand about this.”
Other long-time fans agreed that they were afraid of their beloved home and garden channel taking on the tone of the channel that’s notorious for its over-the-top shows like the Real Housewives franchises, Vanderpump Rules, and Below Deck.
“You’re not an outlier,” one replied. “HGTV has slowly morphed into some weird reality TV hybrid thing that no one asked for. It’s one of the reasons I started tuning out.”
Others called out the systemic change in television as a problem while bemoaning what’s been lost in the process.
“Why shows with angry people yelling at each other are considered entertainment, I will never understand,” one viewer wrote. “Remember when you watched HGTV and you learned something? How to mix a pattern or how to make a furniture arrangement work in a narrow room? Or just seeing beautiful rooms or gardens that inspired you? I really miss those days.”
In a separate Reddit thread, viewers bemoaned how the network appears to be “going out of business” with all of the programming changes—the latest of which was the last straw for some.
“I started watching them to see home improvement/gardening shows. Cancelling shows like they did (including one that got an Emmy nod) to pivot to fake contest shows like Rock the Block and drama/celebrity shows lost me. Good luck with that,” one user wrote.
Some fans are openly concerned the channel is suffering the same fate as other traditional cable mainstays.
“After seeing another commercial for Zillow Gone Wild, I’m afraid HGTV will go the way of TLC: From learning shows to freak shows,” one Reddit user wrote.
RELATED: Food Network Fans Are Fed Up: “I Miss There Being Actual Cooking Shows.”
The network is blaming a change in the market for its latest pivot.
The most recent cuts at HGTV are shocking, given how much they affected some of the channel’s top talent and programming. However, those working behind the scenes say the transformation is coming at the hands of a drastically changed landscape on both sides of the camera.
Along with the ongoing viewer shift to streaming services and social media for their DIY inspiration, many are citing the rocky real estate market and the looming threat of tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump as significant contributing factors.
“Home reno shows are expensive because all of the materials are jacked up and on delay, the price of wood and marble and everything else is going up, so these shows don’t make as much sense anymore,” an anonymous source told Deadline.
Others called out serious production issues related to the new environment.
“Stuff wouldn’t arrive on time; we had wood floors, for instance, that would come in six weeks after we started production, and then we’re also depending on contractors,” a producer for HGTV programs told Deadline. “Everyone knows if you’re doing construction on your home, you never come in on budget. So, try to apply that to a show that has really strict budgets. Some of our episodes took 16 weeks to shoot; it’s more labor-intensive than doing a real estate show.”
Of course, costs are a foremost concern, with some renovations shows costing upwards of half a million dollars—or roughly about double the cost of producing a real estate-focused show, Deadline reports.
However, HGTV has also experienced a ratings free fall over the past decade, dropping to an average of 773,000 viewers this year from roughly double that in 2017.
RELATED: History Channel Fans Are Fed Up: “Now It’s Just Aliens Shows.”
Some users are looking elsewhere for their home improvement fix.
As their once-steady stable of DIY shows continues to shift in a new direction, many viewers are turning to new outlets to fuel their interests. Not surprisingly, many are heading towards streaming services—and even into the recent past.
“There’s a free HGTV channel on Pluto now, and I have loved catching up on Flip or Flop and trying new (to me) shows like Flipping 101 with Tarek El Moussa,” one Reddit user recommended. “I agree that the reality TV drama really detracts from the shows, especially since the tabloids covered all the details. I liked Flip or Flop when it was about small family homes, often starter homes, in a market that was very expensive back then.”
Those cutting the cord might also be able to make use of another free option.
“Samsung TV Plus has a dozen or two channels devoted to HGTV-like programming, including one that shows only all of the episodes of Bravo’s Million Dollar Listing franchise,” one Redditor suggested.
And what about the shift towards prohibitively costly projects on many of the shows? One professional interior designer defended the move, saying it was more in line with reality.
“It would be great to bring back something like Design on a Dime (but better) or educational classes on little tips and tricks to make quick, easy fixes,” they wrote. “As a whole, interior design is a luxury item, and $200,000 is a small renovation. Successful designers don’t do a lot of small budgets, [and] that’s why all of these design shows max at around there. The smaller budgets they are doing are using connections with purveyors and getting better prices on things.”