ET was on set with the Property Brothers as they took over New Orleans for their new HGTV series.
On a sweltering Friday in early September, Jonathan and Drew Scott are showing no signs of New Orleans’ late summer heat -- 95 degrees by
early afternoon -- as they film their new series, Brothers Take New Orleans. The two “Property Brothers” are with
their third sibling, J.D., and Hoda Kotb at the Court of Two Sisters in the
heart of the city’s French Quarter discussing that week’s results of their
latest challenge: remodeling a duplex destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.
The show, which premieres Wednesday, Nov. 23 at 9 p.m. ET,
is the latest spin-off of the Scott brothers’ successful Property Brothers franchise, which includes Buying and Selling, Brother
vs. Brother, Property Brothers: At
Home and Property Brothers: At Home
on the Ranch.
“I will say that Hoda is loved more by one of the brothers,”
Drew tells ET from upstairs at the Court of Two Sisters, where the crew has
retreated from the heat after filming the segment. “And made the other cry.”
MORE: Drew and Jonathan Scott Rib Each Other New 'Brother vs. Brother' Bloopers
Kotb is one of several celebrity judges -- including NCIS: New Orleans’ Scott Bakula and Ben
and Erin Napier of HGTV’s new series Home
Town -- tasked with determining a winner as the brothers renovate different
spaces in side-by-side shotgun-style homes over four weeks.
“The cool thing is that we’re all friends and obviously Drew
does great work,” Jonathan adds. “But I’m confident that I’m making this house
beautiful too. So regardless which way it goes, we’re getting families back
together. We focus on the fact that we’re helping someone in need and not the
fact that it’s just a sibling rivalry.”
Partnering with SBP, a New Orleans-based nonprofit with a
mission to minimize the time between disaster and recovery, Jonathan and Drew
are not just filming another spin-off, they’re also contributing to the area’s
ongoing recovery in the decade since Hurricane Katrina laid waste to large
parts of Louisiana.
“We’ve got neighbors coming over saying, ‘I didn’t think
that house was ever going to get fixed up’ and ‘I miss our neighbor,’” Jonathan
says of the show’s renovated property, which sat vacant for 11 years. The
project will mark SBP’s 1,140th home rebuild.
Born and raised in Vancouver, Canada, the brothers first
visited New Orleans in 2007 during Mardi Gras and have felt connected to the
community ever since. They also distinctly remember watching the devastation
unfold in late August of 2005, and admire how that fighting spirit lives on.
“There’s a lot of love for the city and, even after the devastation
of Katrina, a lot of love and support for people here,” Drew says. “That’s why
we wanted to come be a part of that.”
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“People here are so warm and they’re so inviting,” Jonathan
adds, reflecting on the floods that affected several parishes throughout
southern Louisiana weeks prior to ET’s visit to the set. “You see everyone come
together. You see everyone here go down to help there because when Hurricane
Katrina happened in New Orleans, everyone came from Baton Rouge to help
here.”
Of course, there are all the other pleasures of New Orleans
that both brothers love. “The food, the music, the fun vibe down here,” Drew
says, listing off the reasons they continue to come back.
“We’ve been trying to eat as much food as possible,”
Jonathan adds.
Brothers Take New
Orleans will not be strictly focused on the renovation, giving audiences a
chance to explore the city with Jonathan and Drew. There’s live jazz music in
the streets, beignets at Café du Monde, the world-famous cemeteries and
wresting with alligators.
“When we’re shooting any of these shows, we want to find the
craziest places we can go to,” Jonathan says. “I’m going antiquing one day and
Drew wants to stop. He wanted me to wrestle an alligator!”
Even with their tight production schedule, the brothers were
able to set aside some time for adventure, including getting in a pen with a
900-pound alligator. “There was nothing between us and certain death,” Jonathan
jokes, adding: “I can’t say wrestling gators was even on my bucket list, but it
was fun.”
MORE: Watch the 'Property Brothers' Drew and Jonathan Scott in First-Ever Music Video
One thing that probably won’t make it on the show is Drew’s
shoe obsession. Jonathan told Parade magazine that his brother has 180 pairs.
While Drew wouldn’t cough up how many he actually has, he did admit: “I have a
lot of shoes.”
“I brought just the bare minimum,” he says when asked how
many made it down to New Orleans for the production. “I did not bring suits
because it’s, you know, 117 degrees and 95 percent humidity.”
OK, so maybe the heat did get to them just a little.