Heavy/Getty Businessman and new HGTV host Marcus Lemonis
Six months after being inexplicably pulled off the air, HGTV has quietly announced that “The Renovator” starring multimillionaire business expert Marcus Lemonis will get a second chance in April. The series originally premiered in October 2022 with much fanfare, but disappeared after just two episodes had aired.
In the weeks leading up to its premiere, “The Renovator” was promoted by Lemonis, 49, and HGTV as a new eight-episode series set to air on Tuesday nights. The first two episodes aired as scheduled on October 11 and October 18, but the rest of the series never aired.
HGTV nor Lemonis responded to Heavy’s requests for comment at the time, but on October 21, Lemonis posted on social media that the series would return in 2023. He uploaded the 90-second “sneak peek” promo of the show that had previously aired on the network and wrote that he hoped fans had enjoyed the two-episode “sneak peek” of the series.
HGTV Has Added 3 Episodes of ‘The Renovator’ to Schedule
In a joint Instagram post on March 10, 2023, HGTV and Lemonis announced that “The Renovator” will begin airing late on Saturday nights — at 10 p.m. Eastern time — beginning April 8. Later that day, Lemonis also posted a video promo for the show, writing, “I’m back to improve families’ lives and homes!”
It is not clear if HGTV plans to air the full series, as its website currently only lists air dates for three new episodes – on April 8, 15, and 23.
Lemonis is a successful entrepreneur and CEO of Camping World with an estimated net worth of $500 million. He starred in the CNBC reality show “The Profit” for eight seasons until the spring of 2020. According to Reality Blurred, Lemonis has faced multiple lawsuits from businesses featured on the show, including a $30 million fraud claim filed in May 2022, per AdWeek.
Lemonis’ work has not focused on home renovations, but he has said that he privately loved dabbling in home design for many years. “The Renovator” allowed him to blend that passion with his business acumen and expertise in communication strategies, he told HGTV in September, before the first episodes aired.
“Renovation is just a portion of why I spend time with these families,” he said. “The other reason is to help renovate the way they think so they can communicate better. Throughout the season, I met some amazing families who needed someone on their side to provide solutions that transform their homes into ideal spaces and help strengthen their relationships. I use my own life experiences and my passion for design to create a stronger foundation for their home and their family.”
‘The Renovator’ Debut Didn’t Draw Huge Ratings
GettyMarcus Lemonis with his wife Bobbi Lemonis in 2018
When “The Renovator” was pulled from HGTV’s schedule last fall, many of Lemonis’ social media followers commented on his posts to say how much they enjoyed the first two episodes, wishing more would air soon and expressing confusion and frustration about the season coming to such an abrupt halt.
Despite heavy promotion leading up to the series premiere, the first episode did not draw in as many viewers as HGTV’s most popular shows. According to USTVDB, the first episode drew 607,000 total viewers, but ratings went down the following week to 570,000, making it the least-watched new show on the network for the week of October 17, 2022.
By contrast, the network’s most popular show of that week, the “Farmhouse Fixer” season finale, had 1,289,000 viewers.
In December 2022, HGTV announced it was revamping its Saturday night lineup to feature new shows that were dedicated to saving homeowners from bad renovations, like “Rico to the Rescue.” In the recent past, HGTV had just aired reruns of its most popular shows on Saturday nights.
According to its online schedule, “The Renovator” will air after the season 2 premiere of “Houses With History.”