How House Hunters became an unstoppable TV juggernaut
In this age of “peak TV,” when hundreds of intricate and high-quality shows must fight for survival, the success of a milquetoast show like “House Hunters” barely makes sense: The proudly formulaic HGTV series follows random ho- mebuyers as they pat down laminate countertops and calmly discuss closet space.
But to the astonishment of rival networks, “House Hunters” remains one of the most unlikely and unstoppable juggernauts on TV. The show last year aired a staggering 447 new episodes — far more than the typical 12-to-22-episode cable season — and helped HGTV become one of the most-watched cable networks in America.
It attracts 25 million viewers every month.
“It’s happy television. It’s so safe. It’s like an old sweater,” said Terri Murray, the executive producer of “House Hunters” and its vast array of specials and spinoffs. “You can walk away from it because the storyline is so simple, the structure is so repetitive, that you can come back and already knows what’s missing.”
The show’s simple structure — shoppers tour three potential homes, then decide on their favourite — is brazenly paint-by-number: Murray called it “so formatted it’s kind of a no-brainer ” to make. The blog PopSugar in November compiled a list of 24 things that happen every episode,” from “A Buyer Says ‘ Wow!’ in an Entryway” to “Retro Details Are Identified and Scorned.”
But the show’s special blend of “property voyeurism,” as network executives call it, has allowed for the creation of about 20 specials and spinoffs, including “Tiny House Hunters” “House Hunters Off the Grid” and “Houseboat Hunters.” Tweaks to the formula have been minimal and rare: “House Hunters Pop’d,” which first aired in 2014, is the same show but with trivia, popping onscreen.
So what keeps viewers addicted? It has game elements; it’s family-friendly; and it features random strangers virtually guaranteed to charm, surprise or annoy. Allison Page, the general manager of HGTV at Scripps Networks Interactive, the media giant that also owns the Food Network, calls it TV “comfort food”: An easy way to enjoy the otherwise baffling and convoluted business of buying a home.
“It boils down what is a stressful and dramatic experience in real life,” Page said, “to a satisfying, entertaining half-hour of television with a guaranteed resolution, every night.”