It’s almost three o’clock days since Discovery’s DIY Network formally renamed himself as the Magnolia Network, in partnership with unmissable renovation TV robots Chip and Joanna Gaines to slap a new coat of paint on the canal focused on reindeer. Which is also exactly as many days, as Turns out, for the little-used network, it was hit by a scandal involving one of its upcoming shows.
Specifically, Variety reports that Magnolia just put out an upcoming series titled Homework of its schedule, after allegations surfaced that the work the series had done in people’s homes fell far short of a passing grade. Salt Lake City’s KSL-TV has now reported about various homeowners who have filed complaints against series hosts Candis and Andy Meredith, accusing them of going over budget, falling behind too long on their work, and failing to pay multiple contractors (who then went to landlords for their fair share).
All of which kind of sounds like Contractors 101, no doubt. Bbut it is also the kind of thing which hopefully you would have researched earlier, say, turning two people into stars on your new TV network. (The work on the houses in question occurred in 2019 and 2020, shortly after the Gaines announced their plans to partner with Discovery on the new network.)
In response to the allegations, Magnolia President Allison Page uttered a “whoopsie!” statement this weekend, noting that, “Magnolia Network is aware that certain homeowners have raised concerns about the renovation projects undertaken by Candis and Andy Meredith. In the past few days, we have obtained additional information on the extent of these issues and have decided to remove Homework from the Magnolia Network pending a review of the claims that have been made. “
Many of the reports of alleged poor workmanship come from Instagram, where the owners accused the Merediths of blowing past budgets and failing to complete promised projects.
The Merediths issued their own reply to the accusations on social media this weekend, but nevertheless, writing that, “We have seen the stories you have[sic] been circulating, and although we cannot speak for anyone but ourselves, we can say that we have always tried to give everything we have to make anyone we work with happy. ” They admit that in some situations they have been involved in – most notably a family that reportedly paid a $ 50,000 down payment for a job that was never started, and then fought to get the Merediths to reimburse his payment; “Horrenda”, but they affirm that “they have paid all the money that we have been able to do things well”. They also accuse the people who complain about them of launching a campaign calculated to ruin their show, and call the “Instagram mob” for criticizing them, so, you know, it’s not exactly total contrition here.
[via Variety]
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