Inspired, fueled and championed by two HGTV blockbuster hit series, Home Town and Home Town Takeover starring Ben and Erin Napier, America’s sweeping small town renaissance movement will get an even bigger national spotlight when the network expands the epic franchise with a greenlight for Home Town Kickstart, a new series presented in partnership with PEOPLE.
With the launch of the new series, the mega-popular HGTV hit franchise will encompass three linear and streaming shows — the original flagship series Home Town shot in Laurel, Mississippi; Home Town Takeover which saw the Napiers and crew take on a “whole town reno” in Wetumpka, Alabama, and now the all-new series Home Town Kickstart — not to mention special episodes, two exclusive digital companion series Erin’spired and Talkin’ Shop, and the Discovery+ original series Home Town: Ben’s Workshop.
Scheduled to premiere in 2022, Home Town Kickstart Presented by PEOPLE, will give six quintessential small towns across the country a major boost to re-energize their revitalization efforts and realize a much-needed fresh start.
“Erin and I have renovated more than 80 homes in Laurel for Home Town and we’ve seen how these improvements change a community for the better,” said Ben. “Now, with help from HGTV, we’re going to continue what we started and help more small towns across the country.”
During Home Town Kickstart Presented by PEOPLE, HGTV will mobilize and deploy its biggest stars to activate a three-pronged kickstart mission for each selected town: refresh the home of a local hero, give a small business an upgrade and invigorate a public space that will forever change the lives of everyone in the town. In addition, PEOPLE magazine will share the unique stories of each town and its most intriguing people.
For the new series, six small communities — Buffalo, Wyoming; Cornwall, New York; Winslow, Arizona; LaGrange, Kentucky; Thomaston, Georgia; and Minden, Louisiana — were identified as towns that could use a boost to re-energize their revitalization efforts. HGTV has called on some of its biggest stars to help out in this unique initiative.
Nate Berkus and Jeremiah Brent (The Nate and Jeremiah Home Project); Ty Pennington (Rock the Block); Jasmine Roth (Help! I Wrecked My House); and Alison Victoria (Windy City Rehab) are among the network’s popular experts who, supported by Home Town stars Ben and Erin Napier, will lead three projects in each town: refresh the home of a local hero, give a small business a beautiful upgrade and reinvigorate a public space to enhance the residents’ quality of life and engender community pride.
During the series, Ben and Erin, who know a thing or two about small town revitalization, offer their insight and encouragement, and PEOPLE magazine will share the unique stories of each location and the standout locals that reside within them. “We see the positive impact of this small town renaissance every day in Laurel,” said Erin. “Ben and I can’t wait to share all we’ve learned with our fellow HGTV experts so they can help these communities achieve their goals.”
Selected from the thousands of submissions HGTV originally received for the hit series Home Town Takeover, the six towns in Home Town Kickstart Presented by PEOPLE, will benefit from the expertise of the popular network stars and, through added visibility in PEOPLE, may secure more support as they work to rejuvenate their towns.
“The staggering success and positive impact of Home Town Takeover showed us that the idea of small town revitalization resonates with America,” said Jane Latman, president, HGTV & Streaming Home Content, Discovery, Inc. “To keep this incredible momentum going with Home Town Kickstart, we went back to the thousands of submissions we received for Home Town Takeover and identified six more towns to support with HGTV’s star power and expertise. And, our collaboration with PEOPLE gives the selected towns another valuable showcase that could lead to more support and growth.”
“PEOPLE‘s audience aligns perfectly with HGTV’s viewers,” said Dan Wakeford, editor in chief, PEOPLE. “We are thrilled to highlight stories about everyday heroes working towards positive change in their communities.”
HGTV will premiere a new season of its flagship series Home Town on Sunday, December 26, at 8 p.m. ET/PT. The series, which attracted more than 31 million viewers during the last season, follows the Napiers as they renovate homes in their own hometown of Laurel, Mississippi. The Home Town franchise also includes the discovery+ original series, Home Town: Ben’s Workshop, which returns to the streamer for a second season Sunday, December 19.
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