Many people love to watch HGTV’s home renovation and design shows. We love it because our collective desire to have the most relaxing, beautiful, functional living spaces possible, we’ve made shows like Home Town, You can either love it or list it, Property BrothersAnd Windy City Rehab Network hits that were major. Orlando Soria, a former host on HGTV, has now shared a very candid story about hosting on the network.
Orlando Soria Responsible for Many Unexpected Show Details
Orlando Soria’s time on HGTV didn’t last long, with him hosting Unspouse My HouseLater, repackaged as Help me Build It Up) for two seasons, beginning in July 2019. Word has been Slowly, slowly coming outFind out how contractors, designers, and hosts accomplish their tasks for each project. Participating in these seriesIt can be As for homeownersIt is not often that people talk about what it’s like to be a lead on a TV show. This is a post His websiteSoria stated that he understood the difficulties of hosting an HGTV program. “glamorous,”But his experience was “an extreme amount of work”This was made “having a social life impossible.” He continued, adding:
It is an honor for your show to be funded by a network. But it is a ton of gritty, dirty, physical work…A typical day shooting Build Me Up involved me waking up at 4:30 or 5 AM, driving myself 2-3 hours (each way) to our shooting location, filming until 5 or 6, then driving 2-3 hours home, rarely getting home before 8 or 9, where I’d eat my first meal of the day…So typically I’d be standing for 12-14 hours a day on no food. And because I didn’t have any help with hair, makeup, or wardrobe, it was up to me to stay as perfect looking as possible throughout the day while trying to find a place to change where there often weren’t any private places. Because we often shot multiple days, out of order, on any given day, I had to keep track of my wardrobe and continuity of what I’d be wearing at what point in the show (to make things seem like they’re moving along at a logical pace, HGTV shows often film scenes out of sequence to save time and money).
My opinion was that HGTV hosts probably do far less work than we see when we watch these shows. Soria made it clear that it was not like that.
He was just thinking about all the details. Additional informationI’m starting to panic about redesigning my homes. You can’t even mention that you have to go without food for a lot of hours while filming. Soria said he did this so that he wouldn’t feel “food churning” while wearing a microphone pack wrapped around his stomach, and so that he wouldn’t have to use the bathroom, seeing as how they rarely had access to clean / private facilities while filming.
HGTV did not provide any assistance to Soria and his crew while filming during the pandemic.
If this already seems like a bit of a nightmare, it does get way worse, as he was working on his show when the pandemic began…and Had to continue workingHowever, it is not the safest. Soria stated:
I was exposed to very little protection during the initial terrifying months of pandemic. My design team and me went to every store before they closed to find the furniture we needed to make our (immovable, even during the time of covid), deadline. It’s a miracle no one got covid, because there weren’t any clear guidelines for safety. When we were filming, we tried to avoid being too close to one another and to wear masks. When covid was first launched, HGTV wanted self-shot footage that they could use in a commercial to promote covid safety. It was ironic that they asked us to show how happy we were to be at home and not risk our safety. My crew, however, could get covid every day without any network oversight.
Orlando Soria believes that many HGTV hosts have similar experiences
Soria said that he believes the show is better because he has spoken with so many HGTV hosts. “rosy picture”Their work for the network is generally a “misrepresentation” “all fluff and bullshit meant to keep them in good graces”HGTV only stars long-standing and well-known personalities get the true dignity / star treatment.
Soria expressed his opinion that many shows’ budgets are too low. “so unworkably small”That is how work becomes “unsustainable for everyone from top to bottom.”He stated that his pay was for Help me Build It UpOnly $17,500 was his total, and because he was paid by the episode, he had to dip into his savings as shooting took place longer than expected. While everyone else (all of whom were paid weekly) continued to make money from the show.
In case you’re wondering, the network did give a statement to People about Soria’s post and would only say that they knew about it and “continue to wish Orlando well.”
Help me Build It UpThe first broadcast was in July 2020. Three weeks later, it was moved at midnight (despite what Soria calls). “honestly decent, not cancelable ratings”(essentially cancelling the show). As he stated:
That time slot was a death sentence…it was a huge blow to me and the crew after we literally risked our lives to make a TV show for a network that was simultaneously using me to peddle its alleged covid safety protocols.
Orlando Soria noted, however, that he also has “only positive things to say”He spoke about his interactions with HGTV employees and found them to be very helpful. “wonderful, exhilarating, and absolutely worth it,”He stated that he would do it again. However, I can only imagine that he would make very specific requests prior to being offered the chance to host another HGTV show.