A Look Inside Showtime’s Fictional HGTV Show ‘Fliplanthropy’

Showtime’s “The Curse” has released its fictionalized HGTV show within a show “Fliplanthropy” on YouTube. “The Curse” premiered on Showtime on November 10. The series stars Emma Stone, Nathan Fielder, and Benny Safdie. The show is co-created, executive-produced, and written by Benny Safdie and Nathan Fielder. Fielder serves as a director as well.

In a September press release, Showtime described “The Curse” as a “genre-bending series.” The show tells the story of “an alleged curse that disturbs the relationship of a newly married couple as they try to conceive a child while co-starring in their new home-improvement show.”

The official website for “The Curse” details the synopsis of the show. “Whitney and Asher Siegel are a newlywed couple struggling to bring their vision for eco-conscious housing to the small community of Espanola, New Mexico. But their efforts are complicated when an eccentrically flawed reality TV producer, Dougie, sees an opportunity in their story. As the series unfolds, the couple finds themselves caught in a mysterious web of ethical and moral gray zones — all while trying to keep their relationship afloat.”

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Showtime’s HGTV Show ‘Fliplanthropy’

The show within a show, “Fliplanthropy,” follows Whitney and Asher Siegel as they attempt to showcase their home improvement vision to HGTV. The faux-pilot offers up an impressive take on the HGTV home improvement show formula. “Today is a big day,” says Emma Stone’s character, Whitney.

The show reveals the couple’s first on-camera project house and includes the home’s new owner, Topher. The introductory segment sets up the “Fliplanthropy” core principle of finding eco-friendly solutions to modern home renovation problems.

However, the show reveals that the property’s previous tenant, Elizabeth, has been forced to relocate after living there for several decades. “Even though you’re moving out, we are going to take care of you,” says Whitney. “We’re going to make sure you’re doing well. That is so important to us. Just want to let you know, you’re in good hands.”

The “Fliplanthropy” pilot maintains Fielder’s trademark comedy style with dry humor involving mundane everyday scenarios.

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‘The Curse’ Offers Awkward Spin On HGTV Drama

In a December interview with IndieWire, Fielder and Safdie both described their process behind creating “Fliplanthropy,” Showtime’s HGTV-based show. “We tried to talk ourselves out of it,” Safdie said. “We were like, ‘This isn’t a good idea.’ But then we couldn’t help but think of other things that would build into this or play off of that. We really were just having a good time talking about making this as complicated as possible.”

When speaking about how the show came together, Fielder recalled a story of when he first moved to Los Angeles. He says he was accosted by a woman looking for spare change. When he ignored her plea, she told the comedian that she had cursed him. After thinking about the woman and her curse, Fielder returned to the woman and gave her $20.

Upon hearing Fielder’s story for the first time, Safdie reflected on the interaction.  “What would’ve happened if you went back there and she wasn’t there?” he asked Fielder. “Then your whole life would be ruined because the curse would just be on you. It would be something that you had to think about forever, and you’d never know for sure whether or not something happened to you because of that or not.”

Fielder says that while he doesn’t put much stock in the curses, the idea of them haunts him. “I don’t believe in that stuff, but I can’t get those things out of my head,” Fielder said. “Sometimes if someone says something to you, even conversationally, where you feel like you messed up something, it can linger in your mind and grow and consume you. Then we just started riffing on that idea, like, ‘Wouldn’t it be interesting if that vibe was hanging over an entire show?’”

“The Curse” airs new episodes on Sundays on Showtime.

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