Property Brothers

Property Brothers

–

Property Brothers
Genre	Reality
Developed by	Cineflix Corus Entertainment
Starring	Drew Scott Jonathan Scott
Country of origin	Canada
Original language	English
No. of seasons	7 (13)[N 1]
No. of episodes	173 (list of episodes)
Production
Production locations	Canada United States
Running time	43 minutes
Production companies	Cineflix Corus Entertainment Scripps Networks Interactive Discovery, Inc. Warner Bros. Television Studios
Release
Original network	W Network (2011–2017) HGTV Canada (2017–present)
Picture format	1080i (HDTV)
Original release	January 4, 2011 present

Property Brothers is a Canadian reality television series now produced by Scott Brothers Entertainment, and is the original show in the Property Brothers franchise. The series features twin brothers Drew Scott and Jonathan Scott.[1]

Drew is a real estate expert who scouts neglected houses and negotiates their purchases. His brother, Jonathan, is a licensed contractor who then renovates the houses. Together, the Property Brothers help families find, buy, and transform fixer-uppers into dream homes on a strict timeline and budget.[2][3] The show has aired in over 150 countries, including on the W Network in Canada and on HGTV in the United States.

Development[edit]

Drew was offered a job as a host of a real estate competition show that ultimately didn’t materialize.[4] Cineflix, however, wanted Drew for a show tentatively called My Dream Home, with the intention of finding a female co-host.[5]

When they learned he had a brother who was also in real estate,[6][4] the production company asked the brothers to make a sizzle reel.[7] Jonathan and Drew submitted a video of themselves making over their older brother’s living room.[8] Six months went by before Cineflix responded favorably, and a week later they began filming a pilot for the show in Toronto.[7][9]

Originally, the production company wanted Drew to work as the contractor because of his physique; however, when they realized that Jonathan was licensed, they switched the roles.[10]

Cineflix searched for a distributor, and six months went by with no offers. But then, off the strength of the pilot, the W Network in Canada ordered a full season, while HGTV initially passed. When HGTV noted the show’s success in Canada, however, they chose to condense the existing episodes to 30 minutes and air them on a trial basis. After the show scored number-one ratings for its timeslot, the network picked the show up for distribution in the US.[9]

Premise[edit]

Using the expertise of the Property brothers, prospective homebuyers find a “fixer-upper” and remodel it into their dream home while staying within their budget. The featured families and individuals are often working towards a deadline, like the birth of a child or a special occasion. Originally, each episode started with Drew showing potential homebuyers a house with everything on their wish list, only to later reveal that the house was outside of their reach financially.

However, beginning with season 6 (10),[N 1] Drew began to explain from the start that the home would exceed their budget, and should only serve as inspiration. In either scenario, Drew and Jonathan then highlight the advantages of purchasing an older home. Afterwards, Drew takes the buyers on a tour of homes that are significantly less ideal, but have renovation potential, and the buyers are asked to narrow their choices down to two. Jonathan then uses computer-generated imagery to illustrate his imagined vision for the homes after significant renovations. The graphics featured on every episode are made by an outside company called NEEZO Studios at a cost of about $10,000 per episode.[11][12]

After the family makes a final decision, Drew leads them through the process of bidding on and purchasing a home. Once a purchase is made, Jonathan and his team begin renovations. After the initial demolition, the family is kept away from the site, and are brought back at the conclusion for the final reveal.

Production and distribution[edit]

The show’s producers choose cities for filming based on a variety of factors including fan interest,[13] proximity to a major airport, and diversity of architecture.[14]

As is typical of home improvement shows with an accelerated renovation format, three experienced crews work on the house in tandem to finish within the four to seven week timeline.[2] The brothers hire local design, real estate, and construction companies in the cities where they film.[15] Additionally, building permits are typically ready prior to construction, and the brothers’ projects take priority with their suppliers.[16][12]

The buyers own the property and pay for the remodeling, but the show is able to provide about $20,000 to $25,000 worth of cash and furnishings.[13][12] The brothers do not charge for their services. The total budget presented is for the three or four rooms featured on the show; the rest of the renovations are done off-camera on a separate budget and timeline.[12]

Homebuyers interested in appearing on the show must come up with a shortlist of homes or a home they plan to buy, though Drew provides additional options, and reserves the right to reject their selection if the home is unsafe.[17] Producers screen applicants for their ability to make quick decisions and their availability to film for at least eight weekdays during the project.[18] Individual applicants must appear on the show with a “sidekick,” whether it be a partner, friend, or family member.[19] While financial requirements for applicants vary from season to season,[12][18] the casting call for filming that began in March 2018 required applicants to have a renovation and design budget of at least $90,000 with an additional contingency for unexpected expenses.[19] Real estate agents have helped the brothers find the “inspiration” homes that match the buyers’ wish list; the homes are not always for sale.[20]

The brothers have maintained that their shows are not contrived or scripted. Homeowners are not provided with storylines or dialog, and unforeseen construction challenges are real.[21] Additionally, the homebuyers work with real project budgets.[2] However, the brothers concede that conversations may be re-shot and incidents may be reconstructed due to disruptions on set (e.g. a plane flying overhead), to highlight how protracted problems were resolved, or because the cameras did not capture the real-time shot.[21][22]

The show started out in Toronto.[23] Season 3 (4)[N 1] of the show was filmed in Austin, Texas for seven episodes,[24] and in Canada for the rest.[13] Part of the reason for the move was the fact that American audiences couldn’t relate to the higher market prices in Canada.[12] The brothers returned to their hometown of Vancouver, British Columbia, to film in 2013.[16] In 2014, the show filmed several episodes in Atlanta and Toronto. Between 2015 and 2016 they filmed in Westchester County, New York.[25][26] In 2017, they filmed in Nashville, Tennessee and in Toronto.[27][19] In 2018, they filmed in Nashville and Calgary, Alberta.

Property Brothers debuted on the W Network on January 4, 2011, and aired on the channel until its owner, Corus Entertainment, decided to shift the channel’s focus to more dramatic content.[28] Starting with 2017/2018 broadcast season, the show began to be broadcast on HGTV Canada in its country of origin.[28] It airs on HGTV in the United States, and with other distributors in over 150 other countries,[22] including Australia, Italy, France, Denmark, Spain, Norway, and South Africa, as well as countries throughout Latin America and Asia.[29] The show is also carried on streaming services such as Hulu,[30] Amazon Video, and Netflix (in some regions).[31] The program is dubbed in Portuguese for some markets,[32] as well as in Spanish, where the voices of both brothers is provided by the same voice actor.[31][33] Though Corus Entertainment commissioned and developed the program, the company did not take an ownership stake in the series or the concept, so did not see any revenue from international broadcast sales or from spin-off series in the franchise.[31]

The W Network worked with advertisers to generate revenue for the program. Scotiabank has been a sponsor.[34] In 2014, Mazda Canada Inc. announced a sponsorship in the form of embedded marketing (through product placement and story integration) to span all 13 episodes of season 4 (7)[N 1] filmed in Toronto.[35] The sponsorship also included broadcast and internet ads, billboards, and a contest on the W Network for viewers to win one of three C$5,000 prizes for their homes, a strategy designed to direct traffic to the Mazda website.[35]

In 2019, Scott Brothers Global acquired the brand and related IP rights to Property Brothers from Cineflix Media and producing rights for all future Property Brothers projects.[36] In the deal, Cineflix Rights kept the worldwide distribution rights, excluding the US and English-language in Canada, as well as financial and distribution participation in future productions from the franchise.[37]

Presenters[edit]

Both brothers are licensed real estate agents (Drew is a licensed agent with Keller Williams Elite in British Columbia.)[23] Jonathan is also a licensed contractor.[38] Before going into real estate as a profession, however, the brothers tried acting, including minor roles in Breaker High, Smallville, and The X-Files.[33]

Drew aspired to be an actor, while Jonathan sought a career as an illusionist, but they began working in the real estate and design fields to financially support themselves as entertainers.[6]

In 1996, they bought their first house as 18-year-old university students and, after renovations, sold it a year later for a $50,000 profit.[39][40]

In 2004, they founded Scott Real Estate, Inc., a company that oversaw the sale and construction of residential and commercial projects, and that eventually had offices in Vancouver, Calgary and Las Vegas.[3] While their business did well, after ten years went by with little to no acting jobs, Drew decided to return to acting full-time.[41] In 2009, he was finally approached for what would become Property Brothers.[33] At the show’s start, the twins had managed real estate holdings for 15 years.[38][33]

Reception[edit]

Within three weeks of its HGTV debut in the United States, the show was the top rated of the night.[42] By 2015, Property Brothers had seen a 77-percent increase in ratings on the W Network over its premiere season.[43] The fifth season attracted more than 10 million US viewers on HGTV in the 25–54 age demographic, and the series consistently ranked as a top five cable program among upscale women in the 25–54 age group.[44]

By 2017, Property Brothers remained one of HGTV’s highest rated shows, was HGTV’s number three primetime show, and averaged 2 million viewers per week.[45]

Consumer Reports put it on its list of best home improvement shows, saying, “We all wish Drew and Jonathan were our big brothers—and that they’d help us find our dream home.”[46] Critics of the show have remarked that the high-budget home purchases and renovations are “out of touch” with the changing housing markets that favor rentals, though Kathleen Finch (an HGTV executive) has said that so-called “hatewatch is part of the appeal” of the show.[42]

Property Brothers has drawn notice from multiple awards. After being nominated in 2011, Drew and Jonathan won the 2012 Leo Award (the awards program for the British Columbia film and television industry) for “Best Host(s) in an Information or Lifestyle Series” for Property Brothers.[47] In 2012, they were nominated for a Rose d’Or award in the lifestyle show category.[12][48] The show has been nominated for a Cablefax Award and for Outstanding Structured Reality Program at the 2015 Emmy Awards.[49][50]

At the 2018 Canadian Screen Awards, the program won for Best Lifestyle Program or Series;[51] the program won again in 2019.[52] Property Brothers won the inaugural Critics’ Choice Real TV Award in the category Lifestyle Show: Home/Garden.[53]

The program has influenced popular culture, and has been the subject of multiple jokes on Brooklyn Nine-Nine,[54] Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt,[55] The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,[56] and Saturday Night Live.[57]

Episodes[edit]

For its duration, Property Brothers has been produced by Cineflix. HGTV (a property of Discovery Inc.) has since joined the program as a distributor, however, and has broadcast the show’s episodes on a separate schedule.[58][59] The dates in the chart below correspond to the episodes’ earliest broadcast date. In January 2016, Cineflix renewed the show for 52 more episodes.[60]

On November 9, 2015, the brothers hosted an hour-long special, The Property Brothers: 100 Episodes & Counting, ahead of its 100th episode.[61] The special highlighted their favourite moments from the preceding 99 episodes, and was accompanied by the release of the Property Brothers Handbook, a mobile app that includes design tips, multimedia from the show, and “inspirational photos”.[61]

See also[edit]

Footnotes[edit]

Notes[edit]

1. ^ a b c d The program’s Canadian and US distributors have broadcast the program’s episodes on different timelines and schedules. In this article, season and episode numbers are first listed according to air dates by the Canadian distributor (Corus Entertainment), and the corresponding HGTV numbers follow in parenthesis.

References[edit]

1. ^ Wilson, Jennifer (October 14, 2011). “‘We have the same creative spirit’; Drew and Jonathan Scott — twin brothers — are the perfect designing duo”. Toronto Star. Archived from the original on March 6, 2013. Retrieved January 17, 2012.
2. ^ a b c “Interview: Property Brothers Jonathan and Drew Scott Fix Up Canada”. Real Style. January 25, 2011. Archived from the original on December 30, 2011. Retrieved January 17, 2012.
3. ^ a b HGTV. “Drew Scott and Jonathan Scott”. Archived from the original on April 13, 2012. Retrieved April 15, 2012.
4. ^ a b Berk, Nancy (August 14, 2015), “Property Brother Jonathan Property Discusses the Power of 15-Minute Renovations”. Parade. Retrieved February 6, 2017.
5. ^ Laura, Robert (21 January 2013). Robert Laura’s Interview With The Property Brothers Jonathan and Drew Scott.wmv (Video). YouTube. Archived from the original on 17 February 2017. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
6. ^ a b Glionna, John (March 8, 2015). “Twins Flip Homes and Expectations”. Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on April 5, 2016. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
7. ^ a b Rypka, Marsala (February 2016). “Property Brothers” (PDF). Luxury Las Vegas: 35–38, 107. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 26, 2017. Retrieved October 4, 2017.
8. ^ Scott & Scott 2017, p. 211.
9. ^ a b Scott & Scott 2016, p. 21.
10. ^ Scott & Scott 2017, p. 218.
11. ^ Real Style staff (September 2012), “Interview: Property Brothers Drew & Jonathan Scott On Women, Dating & The New Season” Archived February 2, 2017, at the Wayback Machine Real Style. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
12. ^ a b c d e f g Hussain, Tania (March 13, 2012), “The Two Skillful Brothers Scott: TV’s ‘Property Brothers’ Finding and Building Dream Homes” Archived March 9, 2017, at the Wayback Machine. West Life Bunny. Retrieved March 8, 2017.
13. ^ a b c Villalpando, Nicole “Property Brothers transforming Austin homes for TV”, Archived August 6, 2013, at the Wayback Machine Austin American-Statesman, February 25, 2012, accessed May 1, 2013.
14. ^ Scott & Scott 2017, p. 230.
15. ^ Stevens, Kimberly (September 6, 2014), “For Home-Improvement Show Hosts, a Paradox: Every House but Their Own” Archived September 21, 2017, at the Wayback Machine. LA Times. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
16. ^ a b Gold, Kerry (March 18, 2013), “The Property Brothers are back home – and on the hunt for bargains” Archived March 4, 2016, at the Wayback Machine. The Globe and Mail. Retrieved March 8, 2017.
17. ^ Scott & Scott 2017, pp. 226–227.
18. ^ a b Winterfeldt, Maggie (November 30, 2015). “The Truth About Getting Your Home Renovated on Property Brothers”. MSN. Archived from the original on September 26, 2017. Retrieved September 25, 2017.
19. ^ a b c “Property Brothers Season 6”. Property Brothers. Archived from the original on September 27, 2017. Retrieved September 27, 2017.
20. ^ BRAUN DAVISON, CANDACE (July 16, 2018). “The Crazy Secret Behind Those “Out Of Budget” Homes On Property Brothers”. House Beautiful. Archived from the original on October 10, 2018. Retrieved October 10, 2018.
21. ^ a b Scott & Scott 2017, pp. 214–215.
22. ^ a b Rosman, Katherine (May 10, 2017), “The Property Brothers Are Fixing to Take Over the World” Archived September 22, 2017, at the Wayback Machine. The New York Times. Retrieved May 10, 2017.
23. ^ a b Adair, Connie (February 7, 2011). “Property Brothers the Latest Real Estate TV Stars”. REM Online. Archived from the original on September 27, 2017. Retrieved September 26, 2017.
24. ^ Ng See Quan, Danielle (May 24, 2012). “Property Brothers heads south for season three”. Playback Online. Brunico Communications Ltd. Archived from the original on December 22, 2017. Retrieved December 22, 2017.
25. ^ Ho, Rodney. “HGTV’s ‘Property Brothers’ finish run in Atlanta”. Radio and TV Talk. Archived from the original on November 1, 2017. Retrieved November 11, 2017.
26. ^ Cary, Bill. “‘Property Brothers’ filming in Westchester homes”. lohud.com. Archived from the original on April 3, 2019. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
27. ^ Stein, Megan (March 24, 2017). “Jonathan Scott on Property Brothers Superfans and If He’ll Ever Go Solo: ‘There’s an Opportunity for a Show Called Property Brother”. People. Time Inc. Archived from the original on March 29, 2017. Retrieved March 29, 2017.
28. ^ a b Maloney, Val (July 4, 2017). “Fall TV 2017: Specialty targeting shifts”. Media in Canada. Archived from the original on November 11, 2017. Retrieved November 10, 2017.
29. ^ “Cineflix Rights and Lifetime® bring Property Brothers to the UK”. Cineflix. February 16, 2015. Archived from the original on November 12, 2017. Retrieved November 11, 2017.
30. ^ Luu, Christopher (June 28, 2017). “There Goes The Weekend, Hulu Is Now Streaming HGTV Shows”. Refinery29. Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved November 27, 2017.
31. ^ a b c David, Friend (November 20, 2014). “Success of ‘Property Brothers’ a lesson learned as Corus develops reality slate”. Canadian Business. Toronto. Archived from the original on November 10, 2017. Retrieved November 10, 2017.
32. ^ Wexler, Emily (October 3, 2013). “Brands of the Year: Great Scotts”. strategy. Archived from the original on November 10, 2017. Retrieved November 10, 2017.
33. ^ a b c d Brown, Lauren (June 20, 2012), “10 Amazing Secrets About HGTV’s Property Brothers Jonathan and Drew Scott—AKA Your New Crushes” Archived January 22, 2013, at the Wayback Machine. Glamour. Retrieved May 1, 2013.
34. ^ Haynes, Megan (July 3, 2012). “Fall TV: The next big thing on specialty”. Playback Online. Brunico Communications Ltd. Archived from the original on December 22, 2017. Retrieved December 22, 2017.
35. ^ a b “W Network Announces Mazda Sponsorship and Integration for New Season of Property Brothers Airing this Fall and Winter” (Press release). Corus Entertainment. Toronto, Canada. September 29, 2014. Archived from the original on November 16, 2017. Retrieved November 15, 2017.
36. ^ Vlessing, Etan (May 13, 2019). “Drew and Jonathan Scott Buy Rights to HGTV’s ‘Property Brothers’”. The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 30, 2019.
37. ^ Marra, Vanessa; Ogle, Mark; Duviner, Alina (May 13, 2009). “Cineflix Announces New IP Deal with Long-Term Partners Drew and Jonathan Scott, the Property Brothers”. www.cineflixrights.com. Retrieved May 30, 2019.
38. ^ a b Lifestyle staff, “Jonathan Scott and Drew Scott” Archived February 11, 2017, at the Wayback Machine. Lifestyle.com. Retrieved February 8, 2017.
39. ^ Hurt, Melonee McKinney (May 2012),”Bet on the House”. Men’s Health. 27 (4):66
40. ^ Cockrell, Katie (February 7, 2011). “Meet the Property Brothers”. Archived from the original on March 14, 2011. Retrieved April 15, 2012.
41. ^ Kurutz, Steven (August 21, 2014), “Hey, Here’s an Idea for a Show” Archived December 1, 2016, at the Wayback Machine. New York Times. 163 (56600):D1-D7
42. ^ a b Wilson, Mark (June 21, 2017). “You Cannot Escape The Property Brothers”. Co.Design. Archived from the original on November 10, 2017. Retrieved November 10, 2017.
43. ^ Haynes, Megan (November 25, 2015). “Best of the Year: W Network”. Playback Online. Brunico Communications Ltd. Archived from the original on December 22, 2017. Retrieved December 22, 2017.
44. ^ “HGTV’s Property Brothers return with 2nd seasons of Buying and Selling and Brother vs. Brother” (Press release). Scripps Networks Interactive. 21 November 2013. Archived from the original on 18 June 2017. Retrieved 4 March 2017.
45. ^ “Property Brothers”. www.cineflixrights.com. Archived from the original on November 7, 2017. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
46. ^ Consumer Reports staff (March 2015), “The Best & Worst Home Shows on TV” Archived February 8, 2017, at the Wayback Machine. Consumer Reports. 80 (3):31
47. ^ “Drew Scott Awards”. IMDB.
48. ^ “3 Canadians up for Rose D’or Award”. CBC Canada. February 2012. Archived from the original on March 17, 2016. Retrieved September 22, 2017.
49. ^ “Program Awards”. Cablefax. Archived from the original on May 10, 2017. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
50. ^ “Property Brothers Awards & Nominations”. Emmys. Archived from the original on August 9, 2016. Retrieved January 30, 2015.
51. ^ Marra, Vanessa (March 7, 2018). “Cineflix’s Mayday and Property Brothers Win at the Canadian Screen Awards”. www.cineflix.com. Cineflix Corporate. Archived from the original on May 10, 2018. Retrieved May 9, 2018.
52. ^ “Transforming fixer-uppers into incredible dream homes”. www.cineflixrights.com. Retrieved May 30, 2019.
53. ^ “‘Property Brothers: Forever Home’ Delivers Highest-Rated Series Premiere on HGTV Since 2017 – Multichannel”. Multichannel (Press release). New York. June 3, 2019. Retrieved June 10, 2019.
54. ^
    Various sources:
    • Pape, Allie (April 6, 2016). “Brooklyn Nine-Nine Recap: Let’s Go to Prison”. Vulture. Archived from the original on June 3, 2017. Retrieved May 24, 2017.
    • @MrDrewScott (May 21, 2017). “Another reason I love @Brooklyn99FOX! 😂 #PropertyBrothers @JoeLoTruglio @iamstephbeatz @terrycrews @thelonelyisland” (Tweet) – via Twitter.
    • Keveney, Bill (July 26, 2018). “‘Property Brothers’ twin Drew Scott would be fine with triplets, or maybe two sets of twins”. USA TODAY. Archived from the original on August 22, 2018. Retrieved August 22, 2018.
55. ^
    Various sources:
    • “Kimmy Kidnaps Gretchen!”. Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. Season 2. Episode 4. 15 April 2016. Netflix. Archived from the original on 24 May 2017. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
      

      Titus, I’m the one who’d have to Property Brothers this gut job.

    • Scott, Jonathan (May 21, 2017). “You pegged Drew at least 😂 @unbreakablekimmyschmidt #JaneKrakowski”. Instagram. Archived from the original on December 24, 2021. Retrieved May 24, 2017.
56. “Kimmy Kidnaps Gretchen!”. Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. Season 2. Episode 4. 15 April 2016. Netflix. Archived from the original on 24 May 2017. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
57. ^ Scott, Jonathan (September 30, 2017). “Bahaha. Wait for it!! Finally somebody said it!! Thanks @stephenathome”. Twitter. Twitter. Retrieved October 3, 2017.
58. ^
    Various sources:
    • “JD Scott” (Video). Facebook. February 16, 2015. Retrieved October 3, 2017.
    • Day, Mikey, Moffat, Alex, and Gosling, Ryan (30 September 2017). The Fliplets – SNL (YouTube Video). Saturday Night Live. Archived from the original on 3 October 2017. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
59. ^ “Season 1: Episode 1 – Christine & John – The Scott Brothers”. The Scott Brothers. January 24, 2013. Archived from the original on August 24, 2017. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
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61. ^ “Cineflix Kicks Off 2016 With New And Returning Series On U.S. Networks”. cineflix. January 29, 2016. Archived from the original on November 11, 2017. Retrieved November 11, 2017.
62. ^ a b “W Network’s Property Brothers: 100 Episodes & Counting Special Premieres Monday, November 9” (Press release). Corus Entertainment. Toronto, Ontario. November 3, 2015. Archived from the original on November 16, 2017. Retrieved November 15, 2017.

Works cited[edit]

• Scott, Jonathan; Scott, Drew (April 4, 2016). Dream Home: The Property Brothers’ Ultimate Guide to Finding & Fixing Your Perfect House. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN 978-0544715677.
• Scott, Jonathan; Scott, Drew (September 5, 2017). It Takes Two: Our Story. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN 978-1328771476.