This Leawood mom’s show will air on HGTV. Is it a test run for bigger things?
Could Tamara Day, a Leawood mother of four kids, find a home on HGTV?
The star of DIY Network’s “Bargain Mansions,” just learned that two episodes of her show will air on the network at 9 a.m. January 13. That’s on top of the 10 episodes that will run back to back this Saturday on the DIY Network starting at 6 a.m.
Day doesn’t know if “Bargain Mansions” will be a permanent fixture on HGTV beyond January 13 or if it will be back for season two on the DIY Network.
Nevertheless, she’s thrilled by this latest news, which she hopes implies that HGTV is giving it a test run.
“I can't help but think it's positive feedback,” she says. “How can you not think it's good. And it’s in a Saturday morning time slot, because who isn't home on a Saturday morning, right?”
HGTV is one of the most popular cable TV networks in the United States. According to Nielsen Media Research, it outrated CNN as the third most-watched cable channel in the United States in 2016, behind Fox News and ESPN.
And a spot on HGTV has the potential to be seen by many more eyeballs. The network reaches more than 95,628,000 American households (82.2 percent of households with television). DIY Network reaches 60,942,000 households (52.4 percent of those with television). Both are owned by Scripps Networks.
“I have so many friends and family members who don't have the DIY Network, so they couldn’t watch it or they’d have to go to a friend’s house,” she says. “Now they’ll get to see the show.”
Day’s father, Ward Schraeder, who lives in Salina, Kansas, and is CEO and a principal partner at Medical Development Management in Wichita, Kansas, co-stars in the show as does Troy Paul, owner of Leawood’s Next Generation Construction, who acted as general contractor on the homes.
Her team spent 10 months last year renovating six mansions for the show, which was produced by Reality Road Entertainment, a video production and casting company in the Crossroads Arts District, and Conveyor Media of Los Angeles. It debuted in November.
All but one of the Kansas City-area homes has been sold. Day will appear at an open house at the unsold home, 3633 Locust St. in Central Hyde Park, from 1-3 p.m. Sunday. It’s listed at $599,000.
She was able to wind down from the construction-production whirlwind over the holidays. She spent time in Los Angeles with her husband, children and extended family. Her kids, she says, took surf lessons, and she did yoga lessons on the beach. Day and her husband also visited Northern California wineries.
“I handed my cell phone to my husband when we got there and walked away. It was a beautiful thing,” she says. “It was truly a vacation, a break from it all."
Day said she is getting used to being recognized.
“Someone says your name, and you don't know who they are,” she says. “It's an odd feeling. But everyone has been so nice and genuinely excited for me. They feel like they're part of the journey. And feedback on social media has been unbelievably kind. Even the (critics) have been kind. They always start out with I love your show, but you should do this. That's the beauty of living in Kansas City.
“I always tell them, thanks for the feedback. I can't get better if you don't tell me.”
This story was originally published January 4, 2018 at 7:40 PM with the headline "This Leawood mom’s show will air on HGTV. Is it a test run for bigger things?."