By Ava Dunwoody | Staff Writer
Chip and Joanna Gaines put Waco on the map back in 2014 with the HGTV hit “Fixer Upper” — and now it’s back. After ending the show in 2018, the couple decided to film another season to pair with the release of the upcoming Magnolia Network channel.
Originally set for Oct. 4, the Magnolia Network launch has been pushed back due to the pandemic. The company plans to take over what is now the DIY channel sometime in 2021. The new season of “Fixer Upper” was announced on the Magnolia Blog Aug. 4.
“It’s with a ton of excitement that we get to announce some big news … We will be filming another season of Fixer Upper to air on Magnolia Network when it launches next year,” Chip Gaines said in the blog post.
Chip Gaines said that when he asked Joanna, he was “fully expecting her to tell [him he] was crazy,” but she actually said “she’d been missing it too.” And they weren’t the only ones.
Fans all across the country responded enthusiastically to the Instagram post announcing the new season, which included a sneak peak of what was to come. Colorado Springs, Col., sophomore Torrie Brodish and her family are excited to watch the show when it returns.
“Every Sunday, I always remember waking up for the last few years and being like ‘Oh my gosh! “Fixer Upper” is on!’” Brodish said. “I just love the show. I love the feeling of it. Everyone just seems very happy and it’s one of those feel-good shows.”
While the main premise of the show will remain the same, some things are going to change. The Magnolia Network production company Blind Nil will be producing the show, and it will only air on the new Magnolia Network channel.
“In a lot of ways, the show is going to pick up right where it left off,” Chip Gaines said. “These years in between have taught us a lot about ourselves and how we operate best, so we’re likely to do a few things a little differently this time around.”
Buda sophomore Summer Lewis is a studio art major who sees the return of “Fixer Upper” from an artistic standpoint. She said that the Magnolia brand has given Waco a unique trend that inspires many.
“It’s cool to see all the different aesthetics come together,” Lewis said. “It’s really special to have that here. It definitely makes Waco more fun and it’s so cool that they are going to be filming right where we are.”
Lewis also said that the show has allowed “something outside of Baylor” to “bring people together.” The Gaineses reiterated their desire to do exactly that in their work with the Magnolia Network.
In order to create it, they were “searching for stories we believe the world needs to hear.” Chip Gaines said. “Stories that bring us together, that let us see things in a whole new light. Stories that connect us to our roots, and to one another.”
Chip and Joanna Gaines came to the conclusion that “Fixer Upper,” their “favorite kind of work,” needed to be a part of that. The show can be found on the Magnolia Network coming in 2021.
