Photo by Dennis P on Flickr.
Whether you are in the market for a new home or just like the sights and experience of touring homes for sale, HGTV’s House Hunters series has struck a chord with millions of viewers like you.
Since 1999, House Hunters has been a wildly popular show for a network that focuses on homes and domestic living. Not only has the show grown in popularity over the past 15 years, but it has generated several spin-off shows that use a similar formula.
Thousands of Stories, Thousands of Homes
The format of the show is rather simple – a family looking for a new home tours three different properties, accompanied by a camera crew so that viewers at home are privy to the highlights of each. Then the decision is made to purchase one of the three homes.
While straightforward, the formula for the show works so well because of the amazing variety of the house hunters and the types of homes that exist. Viewers, who tend to appreciate seeing different home styles and interior decorating prospects, get treated to three different homes each week.
The human story also changes in each episode. From the wacky to the heart-wrenching tales of struggle, every family or couple that appears on the show has a unique story and perspective that they bring to the house hunting process.
In this episode, a couple of engaged realtors decide on a home in Savannah, GA.
A Sort-Of Reality Show
A few years after the show had been airing, it was revealed publicly that by the time filming started for each episode, the families had already purchased their new homes. The tours of the other two homes were typically homes they could had considered but already dismissed.
“The show isn’t really a reality show,” said Ted Prosser, who appeared on House Hunters International with his wife, Sharon. “You have to own the house already that gets picked at the end of the show.”
While this information upset some viewers, it did not detract from the show’s success. After all, the viewer is the one being presented with the three homes and kept in the dark about the ultimate decision. Even if the couple has already made their decision, the viewer still gets to tour the homes via camera and try to guess the eventual home that gets purchased. Also, the family’s decision making process is the same whether it happens live on the program or is re-enacted for the benefit of the viewer.
Spin-Off Success
As often happens with television programs, success breeds more of the same. In the case ofHouse Hunters, 8 additional series were spawned by the program.
In House Hunters International, families look at properties around the world, as opposed to the U.S.-centric nature of the original program. House Hunters Vacation follows a family choosing where to spend a week-long vacation. House Hunters: Where Are They Now follows up with families that were originally featured on an earlier program to see how they have adjusted to their new home. House Hunters: Renovations shows both the purchasing process and a look at the initial renovations new buyers make to the home they chose.
House Hunters got even more exotic as later shows included House Hunters: Million Dollar Homes and Island Hunters, where the featured buyers had quite a bit more of a budget than most people. Houseboat Hunters and House Hunters: RV showed families making decisions for a home on the go, either as a main residence or for vacationing.
This episode of House Hunters International follows a couple relocating from California to New Zealand.
Watch Online
Whether or not you have a cable or satellite service that lets you watch HGTV, you can catch full episodes direct from HGTV’s website.
For the original series, visit http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv40/videos/index.html, and for House Hunters International, you can find full episodes athttp://www.hgtv.com/hgtv56/videos/index.html.
Do you have a favorite episode of House Hunters you would like to share? Do so in the comments section below!
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