I watched Season 1 of WCR with some interest because, unlike some of the other reviewers of this show who are lamenting that Alison isn't like Chip and Joanna, the Property Brothers or some of the other HGTV personalities, that is her greatest asset. She seems very real, warts and all, and not fake or trying to be a poor imitation of a comedian like most of the others on these shows. Some of her S.1 finished products I liked, some I did not. But what struck me most was that there were lots of "surprises" during the renos that seemed like they should have been caught early on, and that money did not seem to be a priority for either her or her partner. It all seemed quite laissez-faire. That came home when several episodes noted at the end that the finished product had not sold and was being pulled off the market.
Now we are into S.2 and things have taken a bizarre (for HGTV) turn. The proverbial has hit the fan as money has run out, there are investors asking tough questions as to where it went, the city has frozen issuing of permits, lawsuits are flying around, and her partner has apparently walked away from their deal. Amazingly, in the most recent episode I saw, he let his reputation be trashed on-camera at an acrimonious meeting before departing. According to news reports this is mostly real and not the typical made-up HGTV fake drama. I'm amazed the series is still in production and on the air. I wonder if HGTV is bankrolling them through all this, because we must be talking about multi-millions of dollars. Simply bizarre, but entertaining to watch for sure, even if it is a slow-motion train wreck.
ETA: It seems production has been suspended, at least temporarily, as following the last episode where work actually occurred, we got a pair of clip shows with Alison, Ari and the production staff talking about making the shows, and an episode where Alison hosted a clip show comparing Good Bones and Desert Flippers. The time slot was used for other things after that.
