Love It or List It Kicks Off a New Season

Jillian Harris and Todd Talbot chat about their impending 100th episode and bringing their own families into the dealing ‘n’ designing action this season

Jillian Harris and Todd Talbot may not look like they agree on much on-screen, but there is one opinion this duo shares: They totally need to host a show called Love It or List It: Late Night. “Oh, 100 per cent,” laughs Harris. “I have been pitching that show from day fricking one,” adds Talbot. But while there exists a large enough collection of bloopers to produce an adults-only version of the home design show, Harris and Talbot know this is not in the cards. “I’ll tell you the biggest thing that surprised me since starting the show was how many kids watch it. Like, little kids,” says Talbot. “It’s unbelievable. And that’s a demographic that I was like, ‘Really? How do they relate to this?’”

These days, reality is a family affair, and not only are parents and kids sitting down to watch their favourite hosts compete for the most exciting reveal together, this season LIoLI Vancouver introduces a whole new element to the franchise. “We’ve integrated our kids into the show a little bit,” reveals Talbot, who with wife Rebecca has two children, while Harris has eight-month-old son Leo with fiancé Justin Pasutto.

The series that each week features? a family that has outgrown its house?and now must choose between a new property and their remodelled current home has a lot of ground to cover in a one-hour episode, but as fans have grown more aware of their hosts’ private lives, the timing for an introduction to Jill and Todd behind-the-scenes seemed right. “We’ve been integrating the conversation around family for a long time now. I would reference my kids. I would reference my wife. I would reference the struggles that we go through in terms of conversation that we have around our house and our home and renovations,” says Talbot. With a house under construction, a newborn and a show in production, Harris feels for the families she’s helping more than ever. “At least I’ve done this enough times on the show that I don’t freak out anymore [when things go wrong],” she says. TV Week dialled up Harris and Talbot to get the full scoop on the new season.

TV WEEK: How has this season stood out compared to the ones that came before?
JH: Every season, we get a little bit more seasoned in the design and décor department, so every year I’m more and more proud of our reveals. And I also think Todd and I have become more comfortable with each other. I think we’re funnier. We’re less awkward or dorky together. I think this is the funniest season.

TV WEEK: People love the rivalry and the playful disdain between you. Was that there from the beginning??
JH: To be honest, Todd and I didn’t really love each other when we first met each other. I think we both got on each other’s nerves. He was a little bit quirky and dorky. And I was a little bit entitled, like hoity-toity. But then after five years, you’re like brother and sister.
TT: We love to make fun of each other and we don’t take it personally. But we also have a huge amount of respect for each other. So within that, we can have that kind of playfulness inside the competition. And I think my favourite part of the show is the fun that we get to have together, picking on each other and being goofy and trying to be as real and fun as possible.
JH: People are like, “Oh my God. You guys are so mean to each other.” Like, we really give it to each other, but that’s how we communicate. That’s kind of how we show our love for each other.
TT: Really, that’s how we are in real life, too. We’re just a little bit raunchier off-camera. Well, we’re raunchy on-camera too, but they just don’t keep it in. We have a similar sense of humour, and I think our priorities are similar too. We’re big family people.

TV WEEK: Speaking of which, this season your kids also make an appearance, in the 100th episode. How did that come about?
JH: I can’t believe we did 100 episodes. They should just give us automatically a year off after 100 [laughs]. But it seemed like the right time—Leo couldn’t have been on the show any earlier because he was so young. He was on the show at three months old. Prior to that, he was just like a little, useless blob. But it also made sense because [the episode was about] a big family, and they were expecting. There was a realization that if anybody can relate to this couple, it was us.
TT: I’ve always advocated being able to talk about family on the show because it’s one of the reasons why people move. It’s fun to do something new and have your kids on the show, but on another level, I think it’s helpful because it just lends a little bit more authenticity. When you’re talking to a family, you can say, “Hey, look, I get it. I know what it feels like to have one little baby and another one on the way. And the place is too small, and what are we going to do? Money is tight, and we’ve got to figure that out.” Those are the conversations that people are really having.

TV WEEK: Are there episodes that really stood out this season for you??
JH: The season’s premiere. Because of a permit, that one actually ended up taking so long that I start out in the episode not looking pregnant at all but by the end of the episode, I’m ready to have my baby. So within 45 minutes, you literally see me grow for nine months, which is insane.
TT: There was this one couple that was phenomenal. The husband has a prosthetic leg, and we knew about that at the beginning of the process. But I spent so long with them, honestly, I forgot. So we’re at the third house, and we’re showing the master en suite. It has this beautiful walk-in shower with this bench at the back and the wife says to the husband, “That’s great. You can sit down and have a shower.” And so, of course, the smart*ss that I am, I’m like, “Yeah. You can shave your legs”—because most people say the same thing: “I can shave my legs.” And he’s a big, older guy. He’s in construction. And I was like, “Yeah, you can sit down and shave your legs.” And she’s like, “No, he has one leg, so he needs to sit down.” My face went red. They were totally cool. He wasn’t offended at all. But I was just like, “I can’t believe I forgot that.” It’s those kinds of situations that are the best.

TV WEEK: What keeps it fresh for you after all these years?
TT: The homeowners are the element that changes from episode to episode. Every one of them is very different, and they’ve got their own energy. They’re real people. And that is a challenge sometimes because these people had never been on television before. So we drop them into a situation that is pretty scary for a lot of people.
JH: I think what keeps it fresh for me is the people you don’t see on the screen. There’s all kinds of support staff and support designers and camera men and people making you laugh and somebody bringing you a hot coffee when it’s 6 a.m. and it’s been raining for 42 days. Sometimes I think, “Oh my God. I can’t do this anymore. I’ve got to throw in the towel. I commute from Kelowna to Vancouver once a week with a baby who doesn’t want to commute. Four hours, twice a week.” And then,?I just think about the crew, and I think about their livelihood. And I start to get emotional, and I think I can’t do that to them. I literally will do this for them as long as it takes because I love them. I just love them.

TV WEEK: You guys are also making an appearance on the second season of HGTV’s Home to Win (premiering Sunday, April 30). What can we look forward to?
TT: Basically, they take a house that needs massive renovations, and they bring all of the HGTV hosts together so that each do a different episode. I think we were the lucky ones because we got to be there at the very end, so we got to see the entire finished product and walk through and analyze each space and kind of get a breakdown on the entire house. And it’s epic.
JH: Oh my, it was just amazing. I mean, I was just totally floored with what they did with that house. I think I’m a pretty good designer, but my?jaw dropped. I was like, ‘This is just unbelievable.’ Ah, it was just gorgeous. So Todd and I kind of did something similar to what we do on our show, we did an analysis of the property and gave them some advice. I’m so curious to see that episode.
TT: One of the downsides of doing this job is that you walk into all of these places, and you’re like, “I want this house. I want this. I want this.” But yeah, the show is great. You get to see each of your favourite HGTV personalities go to work on this house and then at the end, some lucky person gets some keys to a new property. It’s fascinating.

Catch the new season of Love It or List It, Mondays at 7 p.m. & 10 p.m. on HGTV