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''Property Brothers'' is a Canadian
reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1990s ...
series now produced by Scott Brothers Entertainment, and is the original show in the ''Property Brothers'' franchise. The series features twin brothers
Drew Scott Andrew Alfred Scott (born April 28, 1978) is a Canadian reality television personality, best known as the co-host (along with his identical twin brother Jonathan Scott (television personality), Jonathan) of the TV series ''Property Brothers''. ...
and Jonathan Scott. 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. The show has aired in over 150 countries, including on the
W Network W Network (often shortened to W) is a Canadian English language discretionary specialty channel owned by Corus Entertainment. The channel primarily broadcasts general entertainment programming oriented towards a female audience. W Network was ...
in Canada and on
HGTV HGTV (an initialism for Home & Garden Television) is an American basic cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The network primarily broadcasts reality programming related to home improvement and real estate. HGTV Dream Home is an ...
in the United States.


Development

Drew was offered a job as a host of a real estate competition show that ultimately didn't materialize.Berk, Nancy (August 14, 2015), "Property Brother Jonathan Property Discusses the Power of 15-Minute Renovations". ''Parade.'' Retrieved February 6, 2017.
Cineflix Cineflix Media is a Canadian global media production and distribution company. Headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, it has branches in Toronto, New York City, London, and Dublin. Subsidiaries include United Kingdom-based Cineflix Rights, ...
, however, wanted Drew for a show tentatively called ''My Dream Home'', with the intention of finding a female co-host. When they learned he had a brother who was also in real estate, the production company asked the brothers to make a sizzle reel. Jonathan and Drew submitted a video of themselves making over their older brother's living room. Six months went by before Cineflix responded favorably, and a week later they began filming a pilot for the show in Toronto. 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. Cineflix searched for a distributor, and six months went by with no offers. But then, off the strength of the pilot, the
W Network W Network (often shortened to W) is a Canadian English language discretionary specialty channel owned by Corus Entertainment. The channel primarily broadcasts general entertainment programming oriented towards a female audience. W Network was ...
in Canada ordered a full season, while
HGTV HGTV (an initialism for Home & Garden Television) is an American basic cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The network primarily broadcasts reality programming related to home improvement and real estate. HGTV Dream Home is an ...
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.


Premise

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),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 parentheses. 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 Computer-generated imagery (CGI) is a specific-technology or application of computer graphics for creating or improving images in Digital art, art, Publishing, printed media, Training simulation, simulators, videos and video games. These images ...
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.Real Style staff (September 2012)
"Interview: Property Brothers Drew & Jonathan Scott On Women, Dating & The New Season"
Real Style. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
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

The show's producers choose cities for filming based on a variety of factors including fan interest, proximity to a major airport, and diversity of architecture. 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. The brothers hire local design, real estate, and construction companies in the cities where they film.Stevens, Kimberly (September 6, 2014)

. ''LA Times''. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
Additionally, building permits are typically ready prior to construction, and the brothers' projects take priority with their suppliers. 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.Villalpando, Nicol
"Property Brothers transforming Austin homes for TV"
''Austin American-Statesman'', February 25, 2012, accessed May 1, 2013.
Hussain, Tania (March 13, 2012)
"The Two Skillful Brothers Scott: TV's 'Property Brothers' Finding and Building Dream Homes"
. West Life Bunny. Retrieved March 8, 2017.
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. 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. Producers screen applicants for their ability to make quick decisions and their availability to film for at least eight weekdays during the project. Individual applicants must appear on the show with a "sidekick," whether it be a partner, friend, or family member. While financial requirements for applicants vary from season to season, 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. Real estate agents have helped the brothers find the "inspiration" homes that match the buyers' wish list; the homes are not always for sale. 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. Additionally, the homebuyers work with real project budgets. 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.Rosman, Katherine (May 10, 2017)

. ''The New York Times''. Retrieved May 10, 2017.
The show started out in
Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
. Season 3 (4) of the show was filmed in
Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...
for seven episodes, and in Canada for the rest. Part of the reason for the move was the fact that American audiences couldn't relate to the higher market prices in Canada. The brothers returned to their hometown of
Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...
,
British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...
, to film in 2013.Gold, Kerry (March 18, 2013)
"The Property Brothers are back home – and on the hunt for bargains"
. ''
The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...
''. Retrieved March 8, 2017.
In 2014, the show filmed several episodes in
Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
and Toronto. Between 2015 and 2016 they filmed in
Westchester County, New York Westchester County is a County (United States), county located in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, bordering the Long Island Sound and the Byram River to its east and the Hudson River on its west. The c ...
. In 2017, they filmed in
Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...
and in Toronto. In 2018, they filmed in Nashville and
Calgary, Alberta Calgary () is a major city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a Metropolitan area, metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the List of ...
. ''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. Starting with 2017/2018 broadcast season, the show began to be broadcast on HGTV Canada in its country of origin. It airs on
HGTV HGTV (an initialism for Home & Garden Television) is an American basic cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The network primarily broadcasts reality programming related to home improvement and real estate. HGTV Dream Home is an ...
in the United States, and with other distributors in over 150 other countries, including Australia, Italy, France, Denmark, Spain, Norway, and South Africa, as well as countries throughout Latin America and Asia. The show is also carried on streaming services such as
Hulu Hulu (, ) is an American Subscription business model, subscription streaming media service owned by Disney Streaming, a subsidiary of the Disney Entertainment segment of the Walt Disney Company. It was launched on October 29, 2007, initially as ...
,
Amazon Video Amazon Prime Video, known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming television service owned by Amazon. The service primarily distributes films and television series produced or co-produced by ...
, and
Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...
(in some regions). The program is dubbed in Portuguese for some markets, as well as in Spanish, where the voices of both brothers is provided by the same voice actor. 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. The W Network worked with advertisers to generate revenue for the program.
Scotiabank The Bank of Nova Scotia (), operating as Scotiabank (), is a Canadian multinational corporation, multinational banking and financial services company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. One of Canada's Big Five (banks), Big Five banks, it is the ...
has been a sponsor. 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) filmed in Toronto. 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. In 2019, Scott Brothers Global acquired the brand and related
IP rights Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, co ...
to ''Property Brothers'' from Cineflix Media and producing rights for all future ''Property Brothers'' projects. 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.


Presenters

Both brothers are licensed real estate agents (Drew is a licensed agent with
Keller Williams Keller Williams is an American singer, songwriter and musician who combines elements of bluegrass, folk, alternative rock, reggae, electronica/dance, jazz, funk, along with other assorted genres. He is often described as a 'one-man jam-band' ...
Elite in British Columbia.) Jonathan is also a licensed contractor. Before going into real estate as a profession, however, the brothers tried acting, including minor roles in ''
Breaker High ''Breaker High'' is a teen comedy-drama series that ran from 1997 to 1998, airing on YTV in Canada and on UPN's weekday " Kids" block in the United States. The series was created by Cori Stern, while David Winning directed the pilot and seven ...
'', ''
Smallville ''Smallville'' is an American superhero fiction, superhero television series developed by writer-producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, based on the DC Comics character Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The series was produce ...
'', and ''
The X-Files ''The X-Files'' is an American science fiction on television, science fiction drama (film and television), drama television series created by Chris Carter (screenwriter), Chris Carter. The original series aired from September 10, 1993, to Ma ...
''. 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. 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.Hurt, Melonee McKinney (May 2012),"Bet on the House". ''Men's Health''. 27 (4):66 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 Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...
,
Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...
and
Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...
. While their business did well, after ten years went by with little to no acting jobs, Drew decided to return to acting full-time.Kurutz, Steven (August 21, 2014)
"Hey, Here's an Idea for a Show"
. ''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
''. 163 (56600):D1-D7
In 2009, he was finally approached for what would become ''Property Brothers''. At the show's start, the twins had managed real estate holdings for 15 years.''Lifestyle'' staff
"Jonathan Scott and Drew Scott"
. Lifestyle.com. Retrieved February 8, 2017.
Brown, Lauren (June 20, 2012)

. ''Glamour''. Retrieved May 1, 2013.


Reception

Within three weeks of its HGTV debut in the United States, the show was the top rated of the night. By 2015, ''Property Brothers'' had seen a 77-percent increase in ratings on the W Network over its premiere season. 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. 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. ''
Consumer Reports Consumer Reports (CR), formerly Consumers Union (CU), is an American nonprofit consumer organization dedicated to independent product testing, investigative journalism, consumer-oriented research, public education, and consumer advocacy. Founded ...
'' 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."''Consumer Reports'' staff (March 2015)
"The Best & Worst Home Shows on TV"
. ''Consumer Reports''. 80 (3):31
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. ''Property Brothers'' has drawn notice from multiple awards. After being nominated in 2011, Drew and Jonathan won the 2012
Leo Award The Leo Awards are the awards program for the British Columbia film and television industry. Held each May or June in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, the Leo Awards were founded by the Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Foundation of British C ...
(the awards program for the British Columbia film and television industry) for "Best Host(s) in an Information or Lifestyle Series" for ''Property Brothers''. In 2012, they were nominated for a Rose d'Or award in the lifestyle show category. The show has been nominated for a Cablefax Award and for Outstanding Structured Reality Program at the 2015 Emmy Awards. At the 2018
Canadian Screen Awards The Canadian Screen Awards () are awards given for artistic and technical merit in the film industry recognizing excellence in Canadian film, English-language television, and digital media ( web series) productions. Given annually by the Academy ...
, the program won for Best Lifestyle Program or Series; the program won again in 2019. ''Property Brothers'' won the inaugural Critics' Choice Real TV Award in the category Lifestyle Show: Home/Garden. The program has influenced popular culture, and has been the subject of multiple jokes on ''
Brooklyn Nine-Nine ''Brooklyn Nine-Nine'' is an American police procedural sitcom television series that aired on Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox, and later on NBC, from September 17, 2013, to September 16, 2021, for eight seasons and 153 episodes. Created by Dan G ...
'', Various sources: * * * ''
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt ''Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt'' is an American sitcom created by Tina Fey and Robert Carlock, starring Ellie Kemper in the title role. It premiered on March 6, 2015, on Netflix and ran for four seasons, ending on January 25, 2019. An interactiv ...
'', ''
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert ''The Late Show with Stephen Colbert'' is an American late-night talk show, late-night news satire, news and liberal political satire talk show hosted by Stephen Colbert, which premiered on September 8, 2015. Produced by Stephen Colbert, Spartin ...
'', and ''
Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...
''. Various sources: * * The show was also listed as the #2 most popular real estate shows in 2023 on the Agent Wealth Hustle real estate blog in North America.


Episodes

For its duration, ''Property Brothers'' has been produced by Cineflix.
HGTV HGTV (an initialism for Home & Garden Television) is an American basic cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The network primarily broadcasts reality programming related to home improvement and real estate. HGTV Dream Home is an ...
(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. The dates in the chart below correspond to the episodes' earliest broadcast date. In January 2016, Cineflix renewed the show for 52 more episodes. On November 9, 2015, the brothers hosted an hour-long special, ''The Property Brothers: 100 Episodes & Counting'', ahead of its 100th episode. 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".


See also

* '' Love It or List It'' * '' Income Property'' * '' Divine Design'' * '' Fixer Upper''


Footnotes


Notes


References


Works cited

* *


External links

* * * * {{HGTV series Television series by Cineflix 2011 Canadian television series debuts 2010s Canadian reality television series HGTV (Canada) original programming W Network original programming Makeover reality television series Television series about twins