Heavy/Getty HGTV's Drew and Jonathan Scott
There’s no shortage of Hollywood stars eager to appear on Drew and Jonathan Scott’s hit HGTV show “Celebrity IOU,” which kicked off its seventh season on January 1, 2024. But not everybody makes the cut.
In each episode, the “Property Brothers” help a famous guest star renovate a space for someone special in their life. On the season 7 premiere, the twins worked with comedian Ray Romano to create a primary bedroom suite for his longtime assistant, who recently experienced multiple family hardships.
Deciding which celebrities can take part is a delicate dance, Drew and Jonathan told TV Insider before the premiere. Each season’s roster of stars is mostly made up of celebrities who’ve asked to be on the show, along with occasional stars whom the brothers have personally invited to appear.
“There are a ton of people who do want to come on the show,” Drew told TV Insider before the season 7 premiere. “We only have so many episodes.”
Drew & Jonathan Scott Have Turned Away Certain Celebrities for Various Reasons
HGTVGlenn Close surprises her longtime friend with the help of Drew and Jonathan Scott on “Celebrity IOU.”
The Scott brothers told TV Insider that their main goal when choosing who will appear on “Celebrity IOU” is ensuring that each season has a healthy variety of projects and relationships between the stars and the people they’re helping.
“The main thing for us is making sure we’re telling different stories,” Drew said. “We don’t want all the stories to be the same. We’ve been so fortunate when you think of the dynamic mix of everyone we’ve had on. There are so many touching stories. If you don’t cry every episode you watch, you’re a heartless beast.”
Sometimes, he added, they can’t make it work with a celebrity if the project is too large or their schedules don’t align.
“At the end of the day, we have to assess what is realistic,” Drew explained. “We have a short timeframe where people are out of town or away (while their spaces are renovated).”
The Scotts also told Collider that they want celebrities who are willing to wear their hearts on their sleeves because viewers expect to see authentic, meaningful connections on “Celebrity IOU.”
“That’s what I think makes the show the number one show,” Jonathan told the outlet. “It makes it so fun for people to watch. It’s because you see this human side of these celebrities and we get to ask them stuff that nobody’s ever asked them on a red carpet.”
Though he didn’t name names, Jonathan told TV Insider they’ve also had to turn down Hollywood agents who wanted their famous clients to be on the show for selfish reasons.
“We’ve also had a couple of agents for certain celebrities who reached out because they wanted a renovation for themselves,” he said. “They are pitching for themselves. We’re like, ‘That’s not how it works.'”
Drew & Jonathan Scott Sometimes Ask Their Own Favorite Celebrities to Appear on Show
HGTVViola Davis’ best friend., Michelle O’Neill, was surprised with a renovation on the first season of “Celebrity IOU.”
Occasionally, Drew and Jonathan reach out to a star they think would be great on “Celebrity IOU.”
Jonathan told TV Insider, “This has happened a few times where we’ll reach out to a celebrity and say, ‘Hey, big fan of your work. If there is anyone you’ve thought of giving back to, we’d love to have you on the show.'”
In fact, that’s how the series began, following a conversation they had at the Emmys with actress Viola Davis, who wound up appearing on the first season of “Celebrity IOU.”
“Viola Davis came over to us to say hi, and we told her about our idea for the show,” Jonathan told Entertainment Weekly during the series’ first season in 2020, which also featured A-list stars like Brad Pitt, Melissa McCarthy, and Jeremy Renner.
“On the spot, (Viola) said she had someone in mind and that we could count her in,” Jonathan continued. “We had the same reaction from all the celebrities participating in the show, so here we are.”
Now it’s common for celebrities to request a spot on the show, Drew and Jonathan told TV Insider, because the renovations can happen so efficiently.
“A lot of people have asked why wouldn’t (the celebrities) have paid for this renovation years ago,” Jonathan said. “In this climate these days, finding sub-trades, and landing a GC (general contractor) is almost impossible, as well as finding designers who are available. It can take a year or more to get a project done.”
“We have all this together,” he continued. “So when celebrities reach out, it’s the perfect scenario because we can get it done. It’s the greatest gift you can give. It’s pretty complicated, but I don’t really know any other group that can pull it off and in the timeline we do.”
The current season of “Celebrity IOU” airs Monday nights at 8 p.m. Eastern time.