Review: 'Zillow Gone Wild'

There are times when I watch a new show and find myself wishing I could peel back the creative curtain and get a look at the decision-making that led to this particular train wreck of a series. Sometimes you can glean a bit of what went wrong just by trying to figure out which specific idiot would have looked at the premise and believed it was a good idea.

When I heard that HGTV was producing a new series based on the popular social media account "Zillow Gone Wild," it didn't strike me as the worst idea in the world. The account centers around posting images from especially horrific Zillow home listings. And that is an idea that is certainly in the network's overall wheelhouse. There is a lot of potential for laughs and the network's primetime lineup certainly could use more lighthearted touches.

I'm not sure what which direction I expected HGTV to take with the idea, but what I wasn't expecting was a clone of Ugliest House In America. Hosted by Jack McBrayer.

And when I describe Zillow Gone Wild as a "clone," I am not exaggerating one bit. It is literally the same format, complete with a pointless competition between homes in order to create a season-long slog to the season's "winner." Like Ugliest Home In America, Zillow Gone Wild grades each home using three criteria that don't appear to have any connection to the actual home. 

And then there is host Jack McBrayer, who I think it is fair to say is an acquired taste. Watching him careen through the episodes, I can understand why the show's producers might have thought he was a good fit for the show's ill-fated format. I'll just be polite and say that this series allows McBrayer to show off his most familiar on-camera persona. And that doesn't do either McBrayer or the show any favors.

Having just watched a few episodes of Sounds Delicious With Carnie Wilson, I can't say Zillow Gone Wild is the worst new show I've watched this year. But it's a solid second and it's especially frustrating because there are a half dozen ways someone could have taken the core idea of the show and made it something funny and entertaining.

Zillow Gone Wild airs Friday nights on HGTV.