When Chelsea Houska’s HGTV series premiered, it seemed like network executives had a new breakout star on their hands.
down home fab debuted to massive ratings, and in a rare rarity, the show’s viewership increased In its second week on the air.
HGTV immediately signed Chelsea and her husband Cole DeBoer on for a second season, and it looks like the couple had more than enough reason to be optimistic about their new careers.
However, in recent weeks, DeBoer’s future has started to look less certain.
In only six episodes, the first season of down home fab was a rather brief one (the show will run for eight episodes when it returns in 2024).
So the honchos at HGTV are more than a little concerned with the fact that a significant drop in viewership has already happened.
According to a new report in UK tabloid SunThe upward trend of the show’s first two episodes was completely reversed for the final two installments of the season.
The series reached its peak around mid-season, with the third episode pulling in 878,000 viewers, making it one of the most successful HGTV series of the year.
Sadly it was all downhill from there.
Episode four saw a major drop in viewership, bringing in only around 700,000 viewers.
Interestingly, it roughly equates to viewership increased between the first and second episodes of the show.
down home fab Still putting in good numbers, but the current ratings trajectory is a cause for concern.
Not only that, the end of the season resulted in Chelsea facing the harshest criticism of his career.
Looks like viewers weren’t thrilled with the designs provided for new clients Ryan and Beth during the episode.
“I’ll probably ask for a refund,” wrote a viewer on Reddit.
“Those shutters or whatever make them look unfinished on the outside. I hate it!” another pair.
“I’m no expert but this is terrible? The white cabinetry brightened up the kitchen and now it feels small and dark,” said a third.
A fourth person said, “The only semi-okay thing in the bathroom was the aluminum tub shelves,” adding:
“I have no style, and even I can see that it’s awful.”
It’s a little weird to admit you have no style and then criticize someone else’s style choice, but such is the state of online discussion in 2023.
Anyway, Chelsea and Cole will probably be fine, but they may have to fight a little harder than expected to ensure the future of their show.
Home reno games are not for the faint of heart!