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One year after her debut series aired on HGTV, Carmeon Hamilton offered up a Christmas surprise for her fans, announcing during an Instagram Live session on December 25, 2022, that she’s coming back to the network with a brand new show that was even a surprise to her. The interior designer said she will host a renovation show dedicated to helping homeowners create spaces that better reflect their personalities, scheduled to begin filming right after the New Year. Here’s what you need to know:
Carmeon Hamilton Says New HGTV Show Was a Christmas Surprise
Hamilton won “Design Star: Next Gen” in early 2021, and then filmed a six-episode show called “Reno My Rental,” which aired on HGTV the following fall. Sadly, three weeks before the series began, Hamilton’s husband died in a motorcycle accident, and she found herself grieving while adjusting to life as a single mom to their son, unable to fully enjoy the launch of her first HGTV show.
Though many fans have inquired about the future of “Reno My Rental,” in her Instagram Live session Hamilton explained that the future of that series has been up in the air due to the merger between Discovery and Warner Bros. However, during the week leading up to Christmas, an opportunity arose for the interior designer to host a different show — one set in her hometown of Memphis, Tennessee.
Beaming as she shared the news, Hamilton said, “HGTV called and said ‘We want to work with you again and we gotta, like, do this like now.'”
She then explained, “This project has been in the works for a really long time. A very long time. It’s been official for a while, but it’s been official for me for about a week now, maybe less.”
Hamilton said she’ll get to work with homeowners rather than renters, which will allow for actual renovations, along with a team of “makers” from the Memphis-area. Filming will begin after the New Year, but she opted not to share the working title of the show until HGTV makes it official.
Hamilton also shared a digital flyer about the search for homeowners to appear on the show, which is produced by Center Drive Media — the same production company behind “Design Star: Next Gen.” Casting producers are currently accepting submissions from families who live within 25 miles of Memphis and need help renovating spaces in their homes to better reflect their unique personalities.
“So, yes, I’m coming back to TV! Yay!” she exclaimed towards the end of her Instagram Live. “It’s been the best Christmas gift…considering how long it’s been in the works, like it literally just came together. I am so excited.”
Pilot for Memphis-Based Show Quietly Premiered on HGTV Before Christmas
HGTV’s production partners have been working on developing a show based in Memphis that aired its first episode earlier this month, though it’s not clear if this is an entirely separate show or the one that Hamilton will be joining.
Midday on December 22, HGTV quietly aired the pilot of a new Memphis-based show called “Moving Memphis” without any formal announcement or promotion. Starring sought-after portrait artist Carl Hess, who has home-flipping experience and pitched HGTV his idea for the show, the pilot chronicled the artistic flip of a home in the historic Orange Mound neighborhood, owned by county commissioner Britney Thornton. It also featured his wife, designer Christina Hess, and multiple local artisans.
Lindsey Weidhorn, a casting agent who’s been responsible for discovering some of HGTV’s biggest stars, from “Fixer Upper’s” Chip and Joanna Gaines to Ben and Erin Napier of “Home Town,” left a huge compliment on Hess’s Instagram post about the pilot.
“This pilot is without a doubt the best pilot I’ve ever been a part of,” she wrote. “You guys are so talented and did such beautiful work!”
According to the Daily Memphian, the pilot was filmed in May and June of 2022. As the pilot aired on HGTV, the network included a graphic in the right top corner of the screen that said, “You’re watching first look ‘Moving Memphis,’ New Series Coming 2023.”
It’s not clear if this is the same show that Hamilton will be joining, since the “Moving Memphis” pilot was produced by a different production company, RTMedia, but the two shows seem to have many similarities, including featuring local makers and focusing on renovations that reflect the personality of each homeowner and their neighborhood.