THE TIME FOR A BACKYARD REVOLUTION
TV personality bares ‘raw reality’ of renovations in new online series
Paul Lafrance is starting a revolution and he’s inviting Canadians to follow along.
Lafrance is best known as the contractor/host of a variety of HGTV Canada series, including Decked Out, Disaster Decks and Deck Wars.
Lafrance has now embarked on a new adventure, independently launching a new online series called Backyard Revolution.
“The best way to describe it is Decked Out meets Dead Pool,” said Lafrance in a telephone interview from his Toronto home, where he’s sheltering in place with his wife and four teenage daughters.
“It’s the most ambitious project I’ve taken on,” said Lafrance. “It’s authentic, it breaks the fourth wall and it’s funny as hell.”
The first season of Backyard Revolution follows Lafrance as he creates a one-of-a-kind outdoor oasis for his clients Sunjay Gandhi and Reshma Bhargava.
The Ontario homeowners hired Lafrance to create a backyard haven where they could escape from their high-stress careers. Gandhi is a dentist and Bhargava is a wedding planner.
“They inherited a finished back yard that was all stone and no heart. There was nothing about it that was them,” said Lafrance.
He and his crew set out to create a truly personal retreat where they could “enjoy a place of rest in a world gone crazy.”
The transformation includes a curved elevated deck with glass railings, a one-of-a-kind outdoor kitchen with a gourmet grill and tandoor oven, and a stunning four-season room with retractable window walls, a built-in bar and a high-definition golf simulator.
Along the way, Lafrance performs a Tragically Hip tribute concert and throws himself out of a plane.
“The story carries so well. You really get into the characters — not just me, but my crew, as well as the homeowners,” said Lafrance.
“In a typical home renovation TV show, we’re used to seeing a project begin and end in 22 minutes. So many of the real stories — the homeowners’ stories, stories about what happened behind the scenes on the set — end up getting left on the cutting room floor because you’re bound to that 22-minute format. As someone who is very much a storyteller, I felt limited by that.”
By devoting 14 episodes to one mammoth transformation, Lafrance is able to take viewers through the renovation process in an unprecedented format.
“There’s nothing like this in lifestyle TV. Nobody ever makes a mistake in those shows. Or if you thought you made a mistake, you find out you didn’t, you turn out to be right. It’s just not real.”
Backyard Revolution chronicles the ups and downs of the nine-month renovation project, capturing the struggles experienced by Lafrance, his crew and the homeowners. Episode one kicks off with Lafrance realizing he forgot to drain the 450-gallon hot tub just before the crew prepares to move it.
“We’re showing the raw reality, the arguments, miscalculations and delays that often get glossed over in the reality TV world. The more real it became, when normally you would say ‘cut’, we said, ‘keep rolling.’ That’s what makes this show really different.”
Backyard Revolution also showcases innovative products that can inspire viewers’ own renovation projects. Just one example is the LG Art Cool Gallery inverter. What looks like a beautiful piece of framed art is actually a wall-mounted air conditioning unit.
“There are 40 different companies involved in Backyard Revolution, all with unique products, some that people have never seen before,” said Lafrance.
With so many Canadians sheltering in their homes during the COVID-19 crisis and most network television shows in reruns, Lafrance feels it’s an ideal time to launch Backyard Revolution.
“During this time of COVID restrictions, people are looking at their back yards more than ever. They’re wondering what the new world is going to look like. Travelling now seems scarier than ever. What better time than now to plan to make our back yards a safe haven, a place where we can staycation.”
Viewers can watch the first episode for free at Backyardrevolutiontv.com/signup.
The remaining 13 episodes can then be watched for a one-time subscription fee of $14.66.
“No one has ever released a show this way before. The only way I could do this show with the creative control I wanted was to release it online throughout the world. I decided I could use the power of social media and have my supporters help me push it out there in a revolutionary way,” said Lafrance.
The more real it became, when normally you would say ‘cut,’ we said, ‘keep rolling.’ That’s what makes this show really different.