WE to help fix up the Ugliest House on the Block
As if there weren't enough remodeling/makeover shows on the air, and obviously there aren't, WE tv has just greenlit the latest. The Hollywood Reporter tells us Ugliest House on the Block involves neighbors and experts giving a four-day makeover to whichever house the neighbors consider to be the biggest eyesore. And, of course, the show promises "green" segments to show how to be more environmentally friendly with home decorating and design.
"Home decorating and design is a genre that has mass appeal for women," said Kim Martin, executive VP and GM at WE. So does the bad-boys-who-treat-women-like-crap genre, but I don't see WE tailoring a show for this segment of the female population. I'd say the all-men-are-evil-and-deserve-to-be-put-down-like-dogs genre, but Lifetime Movie Network seems to have the corner on that market.
Ugliest House was picked up for six episodes. Chris Leary (Fresh Gear) will host with home-improvement expert Leslie Segrete, from Trading Spaces, landscaper Michael "Red" Baron and James Lunday (In a Fix) rounding out the team.
I actually kind of like the idea, if I'm speculating correctly, that neighbors can nominator a really crappy looking house in the neighborhood for this makeover. It's hurting their real estate value, it's ugly to look at and usually whoever let it get that bad isn't inclined to do anything about it themselves. Of course, sometimes they're drunken jackasses, or slovenly pigs or angry shut-ins who don't want anyone on their property, much less redecorating their houses.
So do you think they look for willing participants, or it's like Frankenstein's monster, where the neighbors come on the house with pitchforks and torches and stage an intervention? Throw the homeowners in detox or rehab or The Biggest Loser and revamp their houses while they're gone. Hey, there's another show! Like While You Were Out, do While You Were in Rehab. And spotlight celebrities. Since most of them only spend three or four days in anyway, the time frame even fits.

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