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The Renovators

The Renovators is an unashamed companion piece to MasterChef, but could well do for DIY what the other has done for food.

Let’s be frank…

The Renovators is an unashamed companion piece to MasterChef Australia.

At every step it draws from the same storytelling prototype.

Produced by Shine Australia (and the creative team behind the first MasterChef) it employs the key elements of the hit cooking series: there are group challenges, individual challenges, two eliminations a week, off site challenges, a ticking clock, contestants constantly telling us how they were feeling during any given moment, judges shouting at them while they’re under pressure.

But it will absolutely work….

The show begins in the vast studio workshop. This thing is overwhelming, big enough to fit a few houses, planes, semi-trailers and then some. It is stacked to the roof with more hardware supplies than Bunnings on a bender. Dwarfed by its large screens and rotating fans, the feel of this setting is Hard Hakka meets contemporary chic.

We meet the 26 contestants, a large group of ages and genders (ethnically it isn’t as diverse as MasterChef) -the eldest is a bloke called Phil, 64.

“I want to see heart and passion,” says host Brendan Moar.

There are six Sydney houses which will be the ultimate renovation: a fibro cottage, a weatherboard, a shop, a ‘half done’ house, an inner city terrace and a sixties suburban house.

These strangers are immediately put to the test, asked to renovate a house which -literally- rolls in on the back of a semi-trailer. Told it “needs a little bit of love and a stack of work,” it even has its own cockroaches. And did we mention it needs a garden, all done in 48 hours please?

Watching these strangers come up with a team plan is a bit like asking the Big Brother contestants to renovate their house on Day #1. Who will become the Alpha male?

As the challenge proceeds, judges Barry Du Bois, Robyn Holt and Peter Ho discuss the work, in much the same way that George and Gary talk about MasterChef contestants while preparing dishes. Who is on fire? Who is struggling? Time is ticking…

At the end of the first 8 hours work everyone is exhausted.

“Were completely knackered,” says one.

No being whisked off to a luxury mansion for this lot. They sleep out, camping-style, on the workshop floor. The versatile screens, which double as a countdown clock and super-screen, even provide a moon backdrop. Nice touch.

The marathon renovation continues the next day, and while some are stretched to the limits, other contestants support them -this has the feel of the first MasterChef series where being nice to someone on a Reality show was the rule, not the exception.

The winner of the first group challenge will make the first step towards the teams that will divide amongst the six houses, but to say any more would be a Spoiler.

Brendan Moar, formerly of the LifeStyle Channel, is ideally suited to this format, bringing his landscape expertise, confidence and his dashing looks. It will be interesting to see how the chemistry of his judging team develops, it’s too early to identify here.

This is a handsomely-produced, grand format that owes much to MasterChef and The Biggest Loser. Any fears that it could be another Hothouse (it had to be said) are quickly dispelled. It has chiselled out all the knots in the wood. The remaining questions for the show is how much renovation audiences can sustain.

On the downside, product placement is, unfortunately, prevalent. In these days of “integrated” television viewers will soon let the network know if it is bothering them. I’m unclear how the end point will ignite a career in the same way as MasterChef. This winner lands the profit from the sale of all six houses.

Nine’s Block has bolted out of the gate, and will benefit from audiences having connected with their characters. But The Renovators is set to give the genre a new coat of paint. Indeed, it may even leave Nine’s show looking a bit cheap and cheerful by comparison. Where this leaves Top Design is another question yet again.

The Renovators looks set to follow TEN’s big-ticket television items that hark back to the early years of Big Brother and Australian Idol. It could well do for DIY and property what that other show has done for food.

The Renovators premieres 8:30pm Sunday on TEN.

33 Responses

  1. The half finished house had major problems with design. you could not have shower and use the toilet at the same without getting wet, we are talking co-habitataion, which happens in our society. Also the vanity would be also very difficult to use if you were over 190cm or 100kg as the bath would interfere where you would have any manouvering skills, I think approximately 400ml leeway on the right side. I would like a reply to this as I am Extremely annoyed by this oversight by the judges. I hope this this competition is subjective and not objective. I look foreward to your reply

    Regards Robin

  2. The Renovators is actually a really good show to watch! The Masterchef creators are obviously good at their jobs and know how to make a good television show. I’m pretty sure the ratings Will go up! Cause this show is so addictive!

  3. there can only be one winner
    there can only be one winner
    there can only be one winner
    when I…..
    when I ….
    when I finally got a life and stopped watching…..i was happy

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