Flippers battle on the beach
Battle on the Beach debuts July 12, HGTV
If ever there were a person whose name destined them to be an HGTV star, it’s Mike Holmes. The Canadian contractor has fronted about a dozen home-related TV series, starting with Holmes on Homes in 2001, and has judged competition shows including Handyman Superstar Challenge and Rock the Block.
Now, he’s using those steel-toed boots to step into another judging role.
Holmes will preside over HGTV’S new series Battle on the Beach, in which three teams of amateur house-flippers renovate identical beachfront properties to see who can add the most value to the house. Oh, and there’s a $50,000 cash prize that’ll go toward the winners’ next flip.
The rest of the show’s cast is likewise stacked with HGTV talent. Mina Starsiak Hawk of Good Bones will judge alongside Holmes, and the team mentors are Taniya Nayak (Restaurant Impossible), Ty Pennington (Ty Breaker) and Alison Victoria (Windy City Rehab). Battle on the Beach debuts July 12 on HGTV.
“A lot of television shows that I do, I’ve been the judge, and that’s who I am. I’m the guy that if you make a mistake, I’m going to see it and I’m going to explain it, which I love doing because I’m about education to all homeowners,” Holmes told The List.
That said, he doesn’t revel
in breaking other people down. And, he said, getting to know the husband-andwife teams overhauling the 1,500-square-foot bungalows on Battle on the Beach was a treat.
“I think the hard part was, I don’t want to say punishing, but letting down their spirit at the end of that week,
that ‘you did something totally wrong that I do not recommend, and it has been a problem, and I hope you fix it. I hope you learn from this.’ So that makes me like the bad guy, even though I’m not the bad guy. I’m actually the good guy.”
Filming for Battle on the Beach’s six hour-long episodes took place in Gulf Shores, Ala., and cameras captured plenty of drama as the teams tackled kitchens, bathrooms, outdoor spaces and more. But Holmes says there was a lot of off-screen entertainment going on too.
“Alison had the juice trailer, and Taniya had the coffee trailer. They were really enticing all the crew, not to mention the families, but the crew especially, ‘Come and have a coffee. Come and have a juice,’” he said, adding that impromptu concerts also kept things lively.
“I’m telling you, when that freaking box came out that they started singing, I was blown away that Ty just pulled out his own character and got up and sang like he was a rock star, was not afraid of cameras because everyone had their phones rolling to record it. It was just a wonderful time,” Holmes said.
“If you look at that, that’s a television show behind a television show.”