Food Network’s Robert Irvine Announces 1st HGTV Special

Robert Irvine

Getty Robert Irvine

Food Network star Robert Irvine is trading in his knives for a hammer and nails.

The chef and “Restaurant: Impossible” host announced in an August 8 Instagram post the premiere date for his new HGTV special, “Renovation: Possible,” which is set to debut on the network on Wednesday, August 16, at 8 p.m. Eastern time.

“I know you’ve all been waiting for some updates. Well, we have a special episode coming on Aug 16 at 8p ET on @HGTV. If enough people watch maybe we can do some more. Use the hasthtag #RenovationPossible if you want to see more!” Irvine wrote in his post’s caption, urging fans to generate social media buzz to catch the network’s attention in hopes of securing more episodes.

Irvine explained in an August 10 Instagram post that the goal of his new special (and series, if the network orders more episodes) is “to inspire homeowners to put an end to their renovation procrastination.”


Food Network Canceled ‘Restaurant: Impossible’ After 22 Seasons

Irvine’s new HGTV venture comes after the 2023 cancellation of “Restaurant: Impossible” by Food Network after 22 seasons starting in 2011 (the show took a three-year hiatus between 2016 and 2019). The series saw Irvine travel across the country to help struggling restaurateurs revitalize their businesses. This often included renovation work on the restaurants themselves, giving Irvine the experience needed for his new HGTV project.

According to Deadline, Irvine shed some light on the network’s reasoning for the cancellation in a series of July 2023 tweets, writing, “I’m old news and although the show is a GREAT show that helps small business and families /communities it’s not a show that they believe fits into who or what they want or the younger viewers like.”

Irvine added in another post, “I don’t think any amount of fans telling Foodnetwork to bring it back will do anything.. to change their mind.. They have a different idea of what the viewers want and [‘Restaurant: Impossible’] isn’t in that .. so we will move on and see what happens next .. when i know i will let you know lol.”

Irvine also tweeted with fans about his new HGTV special and confirmed that the same renovation crew from his “Restaurant: Impossible” projects will join him for his new home makeover, writing in an August 11 tweet, “[HGTV star Taniya Nayak] isn’t in this at all , she’s to busy and Tom had a heart surgery during filming but his team D9 are in the show .. we have two new folks helping me that HG picked”.

Despite the cancellation, all past episodes of “Restaurant: Impossible” can be streamed on Max or discovery+.


Robert Irvine Opened Up About His ‘Unusual’ Marriage

Irvine opened up about his personal life in a May 2023 interview with People magazine. Irvine married former professional wrestler Gail Kim in 2012, and in his recent interview, Irvine shared that, “I travel 345 days a year,” which keeps him and Kim apart more often than not.

“I think it’s really important, the communication,” Irvine shared, “The communication we give and the clear directions that we have is carried through our marriage. If we don’t communicate, it breaks down like a business would. We over-communicate. And she’s the better communicator, believe me or not.”

Despite their time apart, Irvine and Kim are still sure to celebrate the big milestones together, with Kim sharing a May 2023 post in honor of the couple’s 11-year anniversary.

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