Heavy/Getty Emma Stone will star in "The Curse"
Academy Award-winning actress Emma Stone will star in a offbeat comedy series this fall that Variety describes as “a dark spin on HGTV house flippers.”
In “The Curse,” premiering on Showtime and streaming service Paramount+ beginning in November 2023, Stone and comedian Nathan Fielder will play a married couple, Whitney and Ashley, who co-host of a home flipping show called “Flipanthropy,” much like some of HGTV’s most popular couples have done over the years, like Chip and Joanna Gaines of “Fixer Upper” fame, now-divorced Christina Hall and Tarek El Moussa on “Flip or Flop,” and Ben and Erin Napier of the still-popular “Home Town.”
According to a Showtime press release, “The Curse” is a “genre-bending series that explores how an alleged curse disturbs the relationship of a newly married couple as they try to conceive a child while co-starring in their new home-improvement show.”
Here’s what you need to know:
Trailer for Home Flipping Show Parody Described as ‘Bizarre’
A just-released trailer for “The Curse” set to haunting music has TV reviewers trying to make sense of the show’s premise and vibe. BuzzFeed has called it “eerie” and “ominous,” while the DailyMail branded the show as “bizarre.”
In the parody, the “Flipanthropy” series is produced by a “shady” character named Dougie, played by “The Curse” co-creator Benny Safdie, according to Mashable, which reported that Dougie has “secrets of his own and a possible curse at play, these two reality stars are sucked into a world of total chaos.”
Guest stars will include Oscar nominee Barkhad Abdi, Emmy nominee Corbin Bernsen, and Constance Shulman.
“The Curse” is executive produced by Stone and her husband, Dave McCary, with A24, which Wide Open Country called “one of the hippest and artsiest entertainment companies in the industry,” adding that its “indie producers have cultivated a loyal following by taking chances on bizarre, unconventional, or eerie projects.”
The first images released from the show include Stone and Fielder’s characters in scenarios often seen in HGTV’s publicity photos, including the couple donning hard hats beside a partially demolished wall, and Fielder driving a small bulldozer. Another distinctly creepier image shows the couple arguing, seen through a small window above a woman who’s sitting inside her home looking disturbed.
“The Curse” will premiere first via streaming and on demand for all Showtime and Paramount+ with Showtime subscribers on November 10. It will make its on-air debut on Showtime on November 12 at 10 p.m. Eastern time.
HGTV Hosts & Shows Have Been Parodied Many Times
The premiere of “The Curse” certainly won’t be the first time HGTV and its most popular stars have been parodied.
In 2022, the fourth season of the FX comedy “What We Do In The Shadows” revealed main characters Lazlo and Colin’s love of a made-up home renovation show called “Go Flip Yourself” starring twin brothers based on the uber-popular “Property Brothers” Drew and Jonathan Scott, according to AV Club.
In one episode, the knock-off twin hosts — named Bran and Toby Daltry — arrived in Staten Island, ready to fix up the vampires’ mansion with fake plants and a man cave. AV Club reported that producers actually worked with HGTV to make sure their parody of the “Property Brothers” was spot-on, including the show’s opening.
NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” has made fun of the network multiple times, too, including a 2017 skit featuring guest host Ryan Gosling as one of three handy brothers hosting a show called “The Fliplets.” But his character’s concern over their family’s troubled past hilariously took center stage instead of their home improvement tasks at hand.
In April, Jake Gylenhall starred in another “SNL” parody called “Dream Cousins.” Months later, in November, Amy Schumer starred in another “SNL” skit called “The Looker,” as a suburban mom obsessed with the “Property Brothers.”
“We’ve known Amy for a few years,” Drew told Today after the skit aired. “I thought it was hilarious and then I texted her saying, ‘Oh, so you are our biggest fan!'”