Home Town is an American television series starring husband and wife team, Ben and Erin Napier, that premiered on January 24, 2016 on HGTV. It is produced by RTR Media, a Canadian production company.[1] The couple restores homes mainly in Laurel, Mississippi.[2] The eighth season of Home Town began airing on January 7, 2024.[3][4]
| Home Town | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Lifestyle |
| Created by | Jenna Keane |
| Starring | Ben Napier Erin Napier |
| Country of origin | Canada United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 8 |
| No. of episodes | 97 |
| Production | |
| Production location | Laurel, Mississippi |
| Running time | One hour and four minutes |
| Production company | RTR Media Inc |
| Original release | |
| Network | HGTV |
| Release | January 24, 2016 – present |
On January 4, 2021, a spin-off titled Home Town: Ben's Workshop premiered on Discovery+,[5] and on May 2, 2021, a spin-off titled Home Town Takeover premiered on HGTV.[6][7]
Premise edit
Erin and Ben Napier renovate houses in the small Southern town of Laurel—frequently in its historic district. Each episode begins with a potential client choosing a home from two or three options that the Napiers recommend. A renovation plan is presented to the client, but the actual work is done without the client's participation. Episodes end with the Napiers revealing the completed renovation to the clients.
After being featured in Southern Weddings magazine and on the magazine's Instagram feed, the Napiers were contacted by HGTV.[8] The show premiered in January 2016 and has been highly rated in the first three of the show's aired seasons.[9]
Hosts edit
Erin and Ben Napier met while they were students at Jones County Junior College, near Laurel, prior to enrolling at the University of Mississippi, and were married in 2008.[8][10] They have two daughters, Helen, who was born in January 2018,[11] and Mae, who was born on May 28, 2021.[12]
In 2024 their Alma Mater Jones College named the new Erin and Ben Napier School of Design and Building Arts building in their honour; the program trains students to teach the skills needed to fill a workforce gap of skilled building designers, carpenters, trades workers and craftspeople.[13]
Episodes edit
Series overview[3][14] edit
| Season | Episodes | Originally aired | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First aired | Last aired | |||
| 1 | 11 | January 24, 2016 | May 23, 2017 | |
| 2 | 11 | January 1, 2018 | March 12, 2018 | |
| 3 | 13 | January 14, 2019 | April 8, 2019 | |
| 4 | 16 | January 20, 2020 | June 8, 2020 | |
| 5 | 15[15] | January 3, 2021 | April 25, 2021 | |
| 6 | 11 | December 26, 2021 | April 3, 2022 | |
| 7 | 18 | December 4, 2022 | April 16, 2023 | |
| 8 | TBA | January 7, 2024 | TBA | |
Season 1 (2016–17) edit
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Big Renovation in a Small Town" | January 24, 2016 | |
| 2 | 2 | "A House With History" | March 21, 2017 | |
| 3 | 3 | "Homecoming" | March 28, 2017 | |
| 4 | 4 | "Cottage Charm" | April 4, 2017 | |
| 5 | 5 | "A Town to Call Home" | April 11, 2017 | |
| Kristen dreams of watching her kids grow up in a small town as she did, but as a military family, they are always on the move. Now that husband Kelvin is close to retirement, they've decided to settle down so their young children have a place to call home. Kelvin and Kristen's all-in budget is $250,000, so Ben and Erin show the couple two family-friendly homes: a big, old charmer that's a lot of house, and a character-rich Craftsman with a lower price but a longer "to do" list. Ben and Erin create the ultimate family home including a study area, play space and stunning new kitchen with a unique bowling alley countertop.[16] | ||||
| 6 | 6 | "History in the Making" | April 18, 2017 | |
| 7 | 7 | "Porch Dreams" | April 25, 2017 | |
| 8 | 8 | "So Long Loft, Hello Home" | May 2, 2017 | |
| 9 | 9 | "Small Town Life for a Growing Family" | May 9, 2017 | |
| 10 | 10 | "Military Family Finds Small Town Charm in Mississippi" | May 16, 2017 | |
| 11 | 11 | "Country Singer Moves From The Big City to a Small Town" | May 23, 2017 | |
Season 2 (2018) edit
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original air date | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Special | ||||||||||||
| 12 | – | "Home Town Holiday Special" | January 1, 2018 | |||||||||
| Season | ||||||||||||
| 13 | 1 | "Banquette Dreams" | January 8, 2018 | |||||||||
| 14 | 2 | "An Island For All" | January 15, 2018 | |||||||||
| 15 | 3 | "Countryside in the City (AKA: A Place To Call Home)" | January 20, 2018 | |||||||||
| 16 | 4 | "Southern Italianate Charm" | January 29, 2018 | |||||||||
| 17 | 5 | "A Quiet Place to Call Home" | February 5, 2018 | |||||||||
| 18 | 6 | "Move It or Lose It? (AKA: The Move of a Lifetime)" | February 12, 2018 | |||||||||
| 19 | 7 | "Colorful Custom Cottage" | February 19, 2018 | |||||||||
| 20 | 8 | "A Little Rough, A Little Refined" | February 26, 2018 | |||||||||
| 21 | 9 | "Room to Grow" | March 5, 2018 | |||||||||
| 22 | 10 | "Small Town Sophistication" | March 12, 2018 | |||||||||
Season 3 (2019) edit
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 | 1 | "A Vacation Everyday" | January 14, 2019 | |
| A new school district superintendent is moving to town with his family of five from the Gulf Coast. | ||||
| 24 | 2 | "Everybody Wants a Porch" | January 21, 2019 | |
| An Arizona couple has $250,000 to spend on a renovation that will emphasize historic Southern architecture--especially a porch. | ||||
| 25 | 3 | "Small Town Life Awaits" | January 28, 2019 | |
| A couple visited Laurel from Quebec, Canada, and decided to buy a vacation home there. They plan eventually to retire there. | ||||
| 26 | 4 | "Leaving the Nest" | February 4, 2019 | |
| A newlywed couple has been living with relatives in Laurel, but are eager to have their own space. They hope their $180,000 renovation budget will facilitate entertaining friends in an open-plan kitchen. | ||||
| 27 | 5 | "A Doctor in the House" | February 11, 2019 | |
| A pediatrician who was originally from Mississippi wants to start a practice in Laurel. The couple has $260,000 to renovate a historic home and wants an outdoor area for entertaining friends. | ||||
| 28 | 6 | "A Modern Millennial Makeover" | February 18, 2019 | |
| A young, engaged couple seek a renovated home to establish their lives. | ||||
| 29 | 7 | "Home is Where the Art is" | February 25, 2019 | |
| An artist and her son are moving to Laurel. She hopes her $200,000 budget will allow for a dedicated art studio. | ||||
| 30 | 8 | "Sweet Home Laurel" | March 4, 2019 | |
| A woman whose family has deep roots in Laurel has returned to town and wants to invest $100,000 in renovating a historic house. | ||||
| 31 | 9 | "An Old Familiar Place" | March 11, 2019 | |
| A Laurel native who has been away for decades wants to return to her childhood home town. She has a renovation budget of $120,000. | ||||
| 32 | 10 | "Small Budget, Big Style" | March 18, 2019 | |
| A local small business owner has a tight budget of $75,000 to renovate a starter home. She wants to be within walking distance of downtown and to have space for her golden retriever. | ||||
| 33 | 11 | "Southern Coastal Style" | March 25, 2019 | |
| Former residents of Mississippi return and hope to establish themselves in Laurel. They have a budget of $300,000 to renovate a home in coastal style. | ||||
| 34 | 12 | "Putting Down Roots" | April 1, 2019 | |
| Two young doctors, recruited by the local hospital, plan to put down roots in Laurel. They hope to find a historic house with room to entertain. | ||||
| 35 | 13 | "Moving to Main Street" | April 8, 2019 | |
| A woman wishes to move from her country home into downtown Laurel. She has a $125,000 budget to create a low-maintenance house that includes space for her son. | ||||
Season 4 (2020) edit
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original air date | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 36 | 1 | "From Los Angeles to Laurel" | January 20, 2020 | |||||||||
| Hollywood-based actor, Richard T. Jones, and his wife live in Los Angeles for his work, but they want to renovate a Craftsman-style home in Laurel. | ||||||||||||
| 37 | 2 | "The Littlest House" | January 27, 2020 | |||||||||
| A 1,000-square-foot home is the goal of a businesswoman who has been living with her mother--saving for a $100,000 renovation budget. | ||||||||||||
| 38 | 3 | "The Church House" | February 3, 2020 | |||||||||
| Ellisville Presbyterian Church has offered a manse to a new minister, but space is tight for them and their five children. The Napiers use the modest $85,000 budget to create a renovation that accommodates the family's needs. | ||||||||||||
| 39 | 4 | "Can This House Be Saved?" | February 9, 2020 | |||||||||
| A young woman has just inherited her family's ancestral home, which hasn't been occupied for years and is in dilapidated shape. The Napiers use her $120,000 budget to revitalize it. | ||||||||||||
| 40 | 5 | "Inspired by the Sea" | February 10, 2020 | |||||||||
| For her first home (after renting outside of town for years), a woman yearns for a luxurious master bathroom with a large bathtub. She has a budget of $170,000 to achieve this goal. | ||||||||||||
| 41 | 6 | "The Sky's the Limit" | February 16, 2020 | |||||||||
| It's seldom that the Napiers are given an unlimited budget for a renovation, but that is what John Combe provided. He was a retired veteran who had recently lived outside the US and wanted to settle down in Laurel. Unfortunately, between the time of the recording of the episode and its airing, he passed away of natural causes. When the episode aired, the end credits included the following: "In loving memory of John Combe."[17] | ||||||||||||
| 42 | 7 | "Restoring a Craftsman" | February 23, 2020 | |||||||||
| 43 | 8 | "Home Away From Home" | March 2, 2020 | |||||||||
| 44 | 9 | "Bachelor's Paradise" | March 9, 2020 | |||||||||
| 45 | 10 | "There's Just Something About a Porch" | March 16, 2020 | |||||||||
| 46 | 11 | "A House with History" | March 23, 2020 | |||||||||
| 47 | 12 | "Termite Terror" | March 30, 2020 | |||||||||
| 48 | 13 | "A Southern Dream" | April 6, 2020 | |||||||||
| 49 | 14 | "Fire and Water" | April 13, 2020 | |||||||||
| 50 | 15 | "The Cafe House" | June 1, 2020 | |||||||||
| 51 | 16 | "A Second Chance" | June 8, 2020 | |||||||||
| Special | ||||||||||||
| 52 | – | "Home Town: Local Love" | November 28, 2020 | |||||||||
Season 5 (2021)[18][19] edit
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original air date [15] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 53 | 1 | "A New Beginning" | January 3, 2021 |
| 54 | 2 | "Color Psychology" | January 10, 2021 |
| 55 | 3 | "A Musician's Retreat" | January 17, 2021 |
| 56 | 4 | "From The Big Apple To The Little Catfish" | January 24, 2021 |
| 57 | 5 | "A Laurel Hug" | January 31, 2021 |
| 58 | 6 | "All in the Family" | February 14, 2021 |
| 59 | 7 | "Clean Lines, Open Spaces" | February 28, 2021 |
| 60 | 8 | "Retreat Yourself" | March 21, 2021 |
| 61 | 9 | "Design for Living" | March 28, 2021 |
| 62 | 10 | "Thanks for the Memories" | April 4, 2021 |
| 63 | 11 | "Family Values" | April 11, 2021 |
| 64 | 12 | "Country House, City House" | April 18, 2021 |
| 65 | 13 | "Grand Style" | April 25, 2021 |
Season 6 (2021-2022) edit
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 66 | 1 | "First Time's the Charm" | December 26, 2021 |
| 67 | 2 | "Bones and Bugs" | January 2, 2022 |
| 68 | 3 | "Pumped About Laurel" | January 9, 2022 |
| 69 | 4 | "One Space at a Time" | January 16, 2022 |
| 70 | 5 | "Grand Millennial" | January 30, 2022 |
| 71 | 6 | "The Zen Room" | February 6, 2022 |
| 72 | 7 | "Campy Cabin Vibes" | February 27, 2022 |
| 73 | 8 | "Sweet Tea Dreams" | March 6, 2022 |
| 74 | 9 | "Wraparound Porch" | March 13, 2022 |
| 75 | 10 | "Architect's Linear Loft" | March 27, 2022 |
| 76 | 11 | "A House for Mom and Dad" | April 3, 2022 |
Season 7 (2022-2023) edit
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 77 | 1 | "The Country House" | December 4, 2022 |
| 78 | 2 | "The Family Tree" | December 11, 2022 |
| 79 | 3 | "The Mullet House" | December 18, 2022 |
| 80 | 4 | "Ginkgos and Gondolas" | January 1, 2023 |
| 81 | 5 | "A Solid Foundation" | January 8, 2023 |
| 82 | 6 | "From Windy City To City Beautiful" | January 15, 2023 |
| 83 | 7 | "The Buzzard's Roost" | January 22, 2023 |
| 84 | 8 | "A Colorful Match" | January 29, 2023 |
| 85 | 9 | "Mississippi Made" | February 5, 2023 |
| 86 | 10 | "A Drop of Sunshine" | February 19, 2023 |
| 87 | 11 | "Blue Heaven" | February 26, 2023 |
| 88 | 12 | "What's Good for the Goose" | March 5, 2023 |
| 89 | 13 | "Second Chances" | March 12, 2023 |
| 90 | 14 | "The Heart of Laurel" | March 19, 2023 |
| 91 | 15 | "The Clock Starts Now" | March 26, 2023 |
| 92 | 16 | "Wood, Brick and Clay" | April 2, 2023 |
| 93 | 17 | "New-Stalgic Restoration" | April 9, 2023 |
| 94 | 18 | "The Maui of Mississippi" | April 16, 2023 |
Season 8 (2024) edit
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 95 | 1 | "Left-Hand Man" | January 7, 2024 | |
| A family plans to move to Laurel from Canada to take advantage of its warmer climate. Ben's participation is limited as he recovers from shoulder surgery—forcing him to rely on assistance from friends and family. | ||||
| 96 | 2 | "Chasing Waterfalls" | January 14, 2024 | |
| A civil engineer and artist is moving from Seattle to be closer to his father in Laurel. His one demand for the renovation is a hot tub. | ||||
| 97 | 3 | "Homecoming" | January 21, 2024 | |
| The Napiers undertake a nostalgic project—the renovation of the Old President's House at Jones College, where they first met. A young couple who work for the College will reside there and need it to look less institutional and more homey. | ||||
| 98 | 4 | "Everything Can Be Restored" | January 28, 2024 | |
| A woman buys her first house for her and her son. Her main request of the Napiers is a proper laundry room. | ||||
| 99 | 5 | "From Show Goats to Show Stopper" | February 4, 2024 | |
| A Laurel couple who run businesses in town buy a historic building to provide room for their work and a loft space in which they may live. The Napiers renovate a large open area into a cozy loft. | ||||
| 98 | 6 | "Craftorian" | January 21, 2024 | |
| A family selects a historic house that combines Craftsman and Victorian styles. Hence, the Napiers designate it the "Craftorian." | ||||
| 99 | 7 | "Tickled Pink" | February 25, 2024 | |
| A woman and her grandniece look for a home where the younger woman can care for her great-aunt, but they both can still be independent. The great-aunt demands a pink bedroom and bathroom, but the grandniece hates pink. Erin must find a way to satisfy their conflicting tastes. | ||||
| 100 | 8 | "Follow Your Goosebumps" | March 3, 2024 | |
| A Laurel native has inherited her childhood home following the recent death of her mother. Her own house is located next door and she and her family have $135,000 to renovate one or the other. They decide to move to "Nan's house" and the Napiers provide some much-needed updating to it. The mother was a cousin of the painter, Mandy Buchanan, who died in November 2022.[20] Buchanan was a Laurel native who was Erin's artistic mentor and friend. The Napiers' renovation includes space for Buchanan's artwork. | ||||
| 101 | 9 | "Rustic Renovation" | March 10, 2024 | |
| Barry and Dennis, a couple from Phoenix, are leaving the desert and their horses behind and moving to Laurel. The Napiers create a rustic retreat for them and solicit a painting by Mississippi artist, Carol Roark. She recreates a photograph of their horses and the Superstition Mountains near Phoenix. | ||||
| 102 | 10 | "Old World, New Build" | March 17, 2024 | |
| A pair of quirky Laurel newlyweds are given a ramshackle house by their family. They're eager to move out of their "tiny house" and have $150,000 to spend on a renovation. For the first time in their history of house renovations, the Napiers determine that this house is in such bad shape that it needs to be razed so they can start anew. This presents an unfamiliar set of challenges to them as they are not accustomed to new builds. | ||||
| 103 | 11 | "Shug and Spice" | March 24, 2024 | |
| A Laurel man is known by locals as "Shug" (for "sugar"), because that's what he calls everyone he meets. He and his wife live in a home built by her grandparents. They have $100,000 to spend on updating it to make it into the family hub it used to be. The Napiers stretch the budget to include a new bathroom and a storage closet just for Christmas items. And Erin paints a sign for "Shug's Grill." | ||||
| 104 | 12 | "Mediterranean Vibes" | March 31, 2024 | |
| Neal and Saron, a young couple with two kids, have $500,000 to spend on a home that is closer to his family's wooden beam factory. In addition, Saron hopes to have space for a pottery studio. They select a home with a unique feature: an indoor fountain. Mississippi artist Bekye Fargason helps Erin paint the interior of the fountain so that it will be a suitably artistic centerpiece for Saron's pottery studio. | ||||
Spin-offs edit
Home Town Takeover edit
A spin-off, titled Home Town Takeover, premiered in 2021.[6][7] Season one of the six-episode spinoff featured the Napiers working with Wetumpka, Alabama to renovate multiple homes and public spaces within its town. For season two in 2023, the "takeover" was recorded in Fort Morgan, Colorado.[21] Season three will feature the takeover of Sebring, Florida.[22]
Home Town: Ben's Workshop edit
On December 3, 2020, it was announced that a spin-off titled Home Town: Ben's Workshop would premiere on January 4, 2021 on Discovery+.[5]
Reception edit
In 2023 the show was ranked as the #1 most popular and best real estate show for real estate agents to watch on real estate agent website Agent Wealth Hustle.[23]
References edit
- ^ "Home Town". RTR Media. Retrieved January 29, 2024.
- ^ Shinners, Rebecca (January 22, 2016). "10 Reasons You Should Be Watching HGTV's Newest Show Home Town". Country Living. Retrieved March 5, 2017.
- ^ a b "Home Town". TheTVDB.com. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
- ^ "'Home Town' Update: HGTV Announces Season 8 and More". HGTV. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
- ^ a b "discovery+ Announces Exclusive Original Series Debuting in January 2021". The Futon Critic. December 3, 2020.
- ^ a b "HGTV Greenlights New Event Series "Home Town Rescue" Starring Ben and Erin Napier". The Futon Critic. November 13, 2019.
- ^ a b "Ben and Erin Napier Take 'Home Town' on the Road In a New HGTV Series". HGTV. Retrieved February 13, 2020.
- ^ a b West, Rachel (January 21, 2016). "Ole Miss Alumni to Host "Home Town" Show on HGTV on Jan. 24". HottyToddy.com. Retrieved October 9, 2019.
- ^ BWW News Desk. "HGTV Shares Impressive Ratings For Hit Series HOME TOWN". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved October 9, 2019.
- ^ Murtaugh, Taysha (January 8, 2018). "12 Things You Need to Know About Erin and Ben Napier". Country Living. Retrieved October 9, 2019.
- ^ Murtaugh, Taysha (January 8, 2019). "'Home Town' Stars Ben and Erin Napier's 1-Year-Old Daughter Is About to Make Her TV Debut". Country Living. Retrieved October 9, 2019.
- ^ "HGTV stars Erin and Ben Napier welcome 2nd child — see the 1st photos of her". Today. May 30, 2021.
- ^ "The Erin and Ben Napier School of Design and Building Arts". Jones College Alumni and Foundation. Jones College. 2024. Retrieved April 14, 2024.
- ^ "Home Town Episodes". Laurel Mercantile. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
- ^ a b "Home Town – Listings". The Futon Critic. Retrieved February 10, 2020.
- ^ "A Town to Call Home". www.hgtv.com. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
- ^ Rogoff, Nina (February 23, 2022). "The Truth About John Combe From Home Town". House Digest. Retrieved January 30, 2024.
- ^ "'Home Town' Season Five Is Headed Your Way in 2021". May 28, 2020. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
- ^ "New Season of HGTV Mega-Hit "Home Town" Starring Ben and Erin Napier Premieres Sunday, Jan. 3, at 8 PM ET/PT". The Futon Critic. December 7, 2020.
- ^ Clements, Erin (March 2, 2024). "Erin Napier Remembers Her Late Friend Who Died from Cancer on Home Town". People. Retrieved March 5, 2024.
- ^ Journal-Advocate, Sterling (June 15, 2023). "Visit the projects of HGTV's Home Town Takeover". The Fort Morgan Times. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
- ^ "Erin and Ben Napier Head to Florida Town "You've Probably Never Heard Of" for 'Home Town Takeover' Season 3". February 21, 2024.
- ^ "21 Best Real Estate Shows To Watch in 2023 !". agentwealthhustle.com. February 24, 2023. Retrieved April 26, 2023.
External links edit
- Official website on HGTV
- Official website for the Napiers (Laurel Mercantile)
- Home Town at IMDb
