Discovery, Inc. has announced that popular home makeover series While You Were Out is to get a reboot, produced by Half Yard Productions.
The show will debut as a co-produced series on TLC and HGTV simultaneously, representing the first series co-production across Discovery’s expanded Lifestyle portfolio, led by Chief Lifestyle Brands Officer Kathleen Finch, following the company’s acquisition of Scripps Networks earlier this year.
While You Were Out will bring back the popular series but will see an expanded budget of $10,000 per room, up from $2000 in previous seasons, and two homes per episode along with two designers and one carpenter per room.
TLC and HGTV stars will design one room in neighboring homes while each set of homeowners send their significant others on a weekend getaway to await the ultimate surprise reveal upon their return. TLC and HGTV will air their own version of the same episode featuring the same homeowners, designers and carpenters. Hosted by Ananda Lewis, the series will include the following design talent: from TLC, Carter Oosterhouse, Doug Wilson, Frank Bielec, Hildi Santo Tomas, Kahi Lee, Sabrina Soto, Ty Pennington and Vern Yip. From HGTV, Bristol and Aubrey Marunde, David Visentin, Hilary Farr, Karen E Laine, Mina Starsiak, Nicole Curtis and Vanilla Ice.
The series premiere will simulcast on both networks. Production by Half Yard starts this month, for a 2019 air date.