Getty Drew Scott and Jonathan Scott will paying tribute to actor Leslie Jordan in an episode of "Celebrity IOU"
The October 2022 death of beloved actor and comedian Leslie Jordan stunned the entertainment world and his millions of fans. His friends, HGTV‘s Drew and Jonathan Scott, will never forget they moment they learned the tragic news about Jordan, with whom they’d just filmed an episode of “Celebrity IOU.”
The ‘Property Brothers’ Stopped Filming to Process the News of Leslie Jordan’s Death
When season 3 of “Celebrity IOU” returns on November 14, 2022, the first of eight new episodes will feature Jordan joyfully working with Drew and Jonathan to renovate the home of his longtime friends, entertainers Rosemary and Newell Alexander, whom he credited with helping him decades before to get sober and find his footing in Hollywood.
In an interview with Extra, Jonathan said the tribute episode is “really emotional” and guaranteed viewers will cry when they see how much it meant to Jordan to do something extraordinary for his friends, obviously not knowing he’d be gone within months.
The Scott brothers, who also worked with Jordan on the Discovery+ show they produce, “Trixie Motel,” said they wrapped filming Jordan’s “Celebrity IOU” episode about five months before his death at age 67, which has been widely reported as a likely cardiac incident before his BMW crashed into the side of a building.
On the day of Jordan’s death, October 24, the “Property Brothers” were busy filming one of their shows when they got the news.
“We were actually on set filming,” Drew told Extra, “and somebody texted, and I literally had to stop for a second because, it’s one of those things where it just doesn’t seem real.”
He also told Entertainment Tonight, “We had to actually shut down production when we got the news that this had happened because we just, we just couldn’t believe it.”
Drew Scott Says New Episode Showcases Jordan’s Great Energy & Big Heart
HGTV’s hit show “Celebrity IOU” allows stars to surprise a deserving friend, relative, or colleague with a reimagined space they’ve renovated with the Scott brothers. Jordan knew exactly who he wanted to help: Newell and Rosemary Alexander, whom the aspiring actor met after moving from Memphis to Los Angeles in the 1980s.
According to HGTV, the couple “helped him get into theater and eventually became more like family.” And though Jordan had no experience with renovation, he was eager to pitch in and help during filming, befriending the crew along the way.
“Every day on set, renovating that house with us, he would sit with different people from our crew,” Drew told Access Hollywood in another interview about the show. “He knew everybody by name, and he was hearing their stories and sharing his stories, and that just goes to show what kind of an amazing person he is.”
“As soon as Leslie walks on a set, you know, everyone lights up,” Jonathan added. “He’d never done demolition before filming. You know, stylings, dressing, picking finishes…everything was new to him, but you would never know because he had so much joy and he was always willing to do whatever it took.”
Originally, HGTV planned to kick off the new set of eight “Celebrity IOU” episodes with the show featuring supermodel Cindy Crawford, but after Jordan’s death, it only felt right to rearrange the schedule in order to pay tribute to the actor.
The new episode airs on HGTV and Discovery+ on November 14 at 9pm Eastern / 8pm Central. After the show premieres, HGTV will run Jordan’s episode several more times according to their online schedule. You can catch it at these times:
- Tuesday, November 15 at midnight Eastern / 11 pm Central
- Saturday, November 19 at midnight Eastern / 11pm Central
- Monday, November 21 at 8 pm / 7 pm Central
- Tuesday, November 22 at 3am Eastern / 2am Central
- Wednesday, November 30 at 3 pm Eastern / 2pm Central
- Sunday, December 4 at 11am Eastern / 10 am Central