Genevieve Gorder is opening up about the ups and downs of the much-hyped (and now defunct) Trading Spaces reboot.
During an exclusive interview with PEOPLE, the celebrity designer and star of At Home with Genevieve (now streaming for free on Crackle) revealed she felt the 2018 version of the beloved TLC makeover show didn’t change with the times.
“As far as keeping the attention span to watch an hour of a design show — we don’t watch TV like that anymore,” Gorder tells PEOPLE. “One hour can feel long. I feel like now, people need design with muscle, because we’ve been stuck in the same template for over 20 years.”
The cult-favorite series first premiered in 2000 and aired for eight successful seasons. In 2018, it was greenlit for a ninth season (after ten years off the air) that would feature all of the original carpenters and designers.
Though the series returned for season 10 in 2019, TLC has yet to renew the show for an 11th season.
While the reboot welcomed back familiar faces like Ty Pennington, Paige Davis and “all the right characters,” Gorder says, she thinks the format of the show “didn’t move fast enough” despite it being “nostalgia city.”
“That’s my opinion,” she adds. “What was cool in 2002 doesn’t really work in 2022.”
Though she won’t be having a televised reunion with the cast any time soon, Gorder couldn’t stop gushing about the bond she shares with her Trading Spaces costars, or her “homies for life,” as she calls them.
She tells PEOPLE: “We keep finding each other. We’re always going to take care of each other. We do all stay in touch, and we do all love each other.”
Gorder also has a new show of her own: At Home with Genevieve dropped on June 23 on the free streaming service Crackle.
The “modern talk show,” as she calls it, not only explores traditional design elements that Gorder has been an expert on for decades, but it also opens the floor to newer pros in the lifestyle scene who can offer fresh entertaining and organization tips.
“It’s kind of an unedited version of what I truly want to talk about in the world of lifestyle and home, and I brought in people from all over the country to give their two cents and weigh in as experts,” she tells PEOPLE.
The TLC and Netflix alum adds that this is “the most inclusive show” she’s worked on and that her stacked roster of guests all have something unique to share with viewers. She’s particularly excited for viewers “to see a person that they will identify with on television, talking about lifestyle and home that they maybe haven’t seen before.”
Some old pals even join her on the new venture, including her former Trading Spaces costar Paige Davis and What Not to Wear alum Stacy London.
On the show, the trio has a sweet reunion as they catch up and discuss their opinions on the lifestyle scene now.
“With the three of us… you don’t have to worry,” Gorder tells PEOPLE. “It’s going to be funny, and we’re going to have a good time.”
[via]
