Andy DehnartTrading Spaces returns Saturday night at 10 p.m. ET on TLC for a ninth season. This is version 4.0 of the show, or perhaps a return to the Paige Davis-hosted version 2.0, which was preceded by the Alex McLeod-hosted version and succeeded by the host-less, porno music version.
Those receiving makeovers are no longer necessarily next-door neighbors, and also have other interests or connections. The first new episode features an ex-husband and wife redecorating each other’s rooms. While there are some new faces, Paige returns following her firing three years ago, and also back will be designers such as Doug Wilson, Hildi Santo-Tomas, Laurie Hickson-Smith, and Frank Bielec.
The big question is whether or not viewers will care enough about the cast to watch just two rooms room being made over in two days when Extreme Makeover: Home Edition does an entire house in a week, and with many more tears and Sears products.
New leadership at TLC brought her back, and she says that viewers shouldn’t punish TLC. “It’s important to me that the fans really appreciate and love TLC again,” Paige told the Los Angeles Times. “The new folks at TLC do feel very strongly that ‘Trading Spaces’ had not necessarily run its course but had been run into the ground.”
As part of TLC’s plan to not run it into the ground again, Paige says they’re producing “Twenty-six [episodes] maximum. Starting with an order of 13. We all anticipate that TLC will order another 13. We used to do 70! … So I think I will be able to do some theater on my hiatus time, so that was one of my other enticements for returning. I wasn’t sure I wanted to return entirely — I felt vindicated and happy about being with my friends, but I wasn’t 100% positive I wanted to do it for sure. … I’m the only one who was on every episode, traveling and being away from home.”