Chip & Joanna Gaines’ Road From HGTV To HBO As ‘Fixer Upper’ Stars Switch Sides Post-WB/Discovery Merger
deadline.comIn one of the most head-scratching reporting changes under the new Warner Bros. Discovery leadership, Chip and Joanna Gaines’ Magnolia Network has moved from the Discovery to the Warner Bros.
side of the company under HBO and HBO Max Chief Content Officer Casey Bloys. Upon closer examination, the move, which could lead to a Magnolia-branded hub on HBO Max and the Gaines’ dipping their toe in scripted programming, is not that shocking.
It just took the couple two mergers and three relationships to get there.The Gaines’ Discovery journey began in July 2017 when the company announced that they had agreed to acquire Scripps, whose flagship network was HGTV, where the Gaines’ Fixer Upper was that network’s flagship show.
It was supposed to be a very brief journey; less than two months later, the Gaines’ announced that they were ending Fixer Upper and leaving HGTV.The duo’s strained relationship with Kathleen Finch was widely believed to have played a major part in their decision not to renew their HGTV contracts.
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