It’s impossible to imagine the home renovation TV landscape without Drew and Jonathan Scott. But before “Property Brothers” became one of HGTV’s biggest success stories, the twin brothers had to hear “no” from the network.
Second Chances
While revisiting the very first episode of their hit series, Drew and Jonathan revealed that “Property Brothers” was initially pitched to HGTV in the U.S., but the network passed. The show was then pitched to HGTV Canada, which also turned it down, before another Canadian network ultimately took a chance on the brothers.
“This show was actually pitched to HGTV in the U.S. first, and it was turned down. Then it was pitched to HGTV in Canada, and it was turned down. And it was another network in Canada that picked it up—the W Network,” Drew explained in a video shared via YouTube. “And they originally said, ‘ Two young hot guys in tight jeans renovating? We’ll buy that show. So thank you to that executive.”
According to Fast Company, the twins found massive success on W, and then HGTV Canada, which ultimately caught the attention of HGTV in the U.S.
“I watched about 30 seconds of the pilot,” Kathleen Finch, chief programming, content and brand officer at HGTV parent company Scripps, told the outlet in 2017. “I stopped it and said, ‘I want them.'”
She added, “When I first saw the tape, one of the things I thought was that Jonathan’s hair was too distracting. It was long, it was bleached. He looked a little bit like a pinup boy, not as much like a contractor.”
According to Finch, it’s no accident that the men sort of portray two different personas on their hit series.
“We very deliberately made sure that Drew is wearing a suit, and Jonathan a plaid shirt [on the show], and we stated that in the beginning because we thought people would have a tough time telling them apart, because they are identical,” she explained. “Because they were adorable and we played off their boy band image a little bit. We have a female audience, and it’s about time we got a little eye candy.”
Massive Success
“Property Brothers” made its HGTV debut in 2011. The twins found instant success in the States and eventually went on to host spinoff series such as “Brother vs Brother,” “Property Brothers: At Home,” “Property Brothers: Forever Home,” and “Property Brothers: Under Pressure.”
Apart from television appearances, the twins have gone on to become some of the most successful stars from the network. Two years into their HGTV run, the brothers negotiated with the network to own all the right to their “Property Brothers” brand.
“It was so important for us to take it in-house and figure out our growth strategy,” Drew told Variety in 2022. “At some point in the future, some aspects of our business will be partnering with the right people to help things continue to grow. But it’s been exciting for us to be able to be the ones to hold the control, to be able to make the decisions, because at the end of the day, I trust Jonathan through and through. He’s not some stranger that I brought in with money to do something or vice versa. We know we have the same values.”
Together they also own multiple lifestyle brands, partner with furniture and houseware lines for their own collections and Jonathan is even launching his own daytime talk show.
