America Is the Real ‛Fixer Upper’

THE WORRISOME DECLINE in US home ownership hasn’t killed the dream of having a place of one’s own. As evidence, consider that each week nine million Americans tune into HGTV, the prime-time powerhouse celebrating buying and renovating houses.

To the uninitiated, HGTV’s endless carousel of home-remodeling shows must appear repetitive. For example, the channel’s breakout hit, Fixer Upper, features an almost-identical Cinderella story in every airing.

In each episode, the show’s peppy stars, Chip and Joanna Gaines, help families buy and renovate a home. It goes something like this:

1. Earnest family picks a home, typically in an excellent school district.
2. Chip and Joanna begin working on the redesign, but a problem arises—perhaps mold or a structural challenge. The family invariably decides safety is worth the repair cost.
3. Joanna, often with her adorable children, stages the space according to the family’s taste and lifestyle (but always with shiplap).
4. The big reveal: the family loves it, and everyone lives happily ever after.

True, the show is formulaic. But the formula works for a reason. It taps into Americans’ deep-rooted need for a place to call our own—a place where we create and nurture loving memories of family, and where we put down roots in our community. That’s reflected in families’ make- over choices. These choices always focus on communal spaces that signify togetherness: living rooms where families gather, play- rooms where imaginations soar, and open-concept kitchens where drywall doesn’t block cook from company.

But our appetite for these shows also symbolizes something else: aspiration. Take millennials like me, many of whom don’t own homes yet. We make up a third of HGTV’s audience. We don’t watch HGTV for practical instructions like learning to install an island or prime a wall. We watch because we’re dreaming of the homes we hope to have one day.

We might even argue that the American Experiment, now in its 243rd year and subject to ongoing improvements, is something of a “fixer-upper” itself. Perhaps you think that’s stretching the point. But what’s more American than the optimistic drive to look at one’s corner of the world and seek ways to make it better? Above all, this drive characterizes the American story. We watch HGTV because it’s a story about us. If its characters’ dreams are realized, ours can be too.