Luke Macfarlane’s Home Renovation Series Sets March Premiere on Hallmark+ (EXCLUSIVE)

variety.com:

Emily Longeretta Luke Macfarlane is trading out his actor hat for a hard hat in Hallmark+’s upcoming reality series, “Home Is Where the Heart Is.” The new series, on which he serves as both host and executive produce, will debut with two episodes on the streaming service on Thursday, March 20.

Though best known as an actor, Macfarlane has been a woodworker for many years. In each episode of the new reality show, he’s invited inside a family’s “once-glorious house that has either been inherited or holds special meaning to them, but is long overdue for some TLC.” Led by Macfarlane and designer Olivia Westbrooks, their team works to “seamlessly blend the past and the present, creating a beautiful family dream home that feels refreshed and welcoming, but maintains the heart, love, and charm that has been present inside its walls for decades. ” This isn’t like other home renovation shows, Macfarlane and creator and executive producer Jessica Sebastian-Dayeh tell Variety.

First, because he’s not just another host. “I’ve always been a builder and a maker, and woodworking is my sort of material, but a very articulate, well-dressed man telling you what’s good and bad is not something that I am interested in.

I think we have a lot of wonderful examples on television of that,” Macfarlane says, referring to some of the other hosts on TV as “renovation drag performance.” “I understand why it happens — making TV is hard and there’s not a lot of time,” he adds with a laugh. “To get really sweaty is not always the cutest thing, but I was committed to that, especially knowing that this was the space that I wanted to sort of introduce myself into.” In the series, the actor is getting his hands dirty, quite literally, helping with each.