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Opening shot: The couple Shea and Syd McGee, founders of Studio McGee, sit on a couch wondering if they’re ready.

The essentials: Similar to the women behind it The home editingThe McGees increased their social media following after Shea began posting photos of their design projects on Instagram. They soon decided to sell their house and put all of the profits into starting their business, an interior design company, and a furniture and decoration line. Now in Utah, the couple and their two young daughters are working to build their own dream home. The pilot alternates between immersing himself in a new client’s extra living room project and cutting away at his house while time slips through his fingers (he only has 2 months to get off his rental).

During the half hour of the pilot we get a feel for the professional and personal relationship between Syd and Shea. Shea seems to be doing most of the work (at least the work we see) and Syd holds the title of CEO. Instead of seeing most of the design process that you might be used to on other shows, we are mostly provided with Shea’s plan for the room, and then it comes together out of sight when the family returns home. Dream Home Makeover follows a proven formula so that you can recognize almost every stroke, from the excited first greeting to the explanation of the floor plan to the emotional disclosure. You get the picture.

What shows will it remind you of? Pretty much every other renovation shows up there; Fixer on top, Extreme Makeover Home Edition (maybe without all that crying) Stay here, Flip or flopYou understand the essentials. It also feels a little in tune with The home editing that some customer projects are focused on a specific space rather than the entire house.

Our opinion: Home makeover and design shows are all the rage right now, so it’s no surprise that Netflix continues to throw its many hats into the very big ring. Dream Home Makeover, while not offensive, is incredibly memorable. They’re trying to create a unique catch by making the McGee’s homebuilding a part of the series in addition to typical client projects, but it’s not exciting, innovative, or emotional enough to really stand out. The McGees seem totally nice, talented people, but another show about a wealthy white couple who design rooms that look like every other room we’ve seen just doesn’t feel like the ticket.

Dream Home Makeover is as obvious as its name is; Shea regularly makes very obvious comments about the unique challenge of creating a space on a tight budget (like we’ve never seen this type of show), and sadly, all of her couch interviews feel like ghosts from past home improvement shows. The couple’s chemistry isn’t electric enough to make them the new Chip and Joanna, and that doesn’t help Fixer on top and a whole litany of couple-based home improvement shows is already out there and thriving. There’s room for it, but it feels like the pleasant neighbor you wave at every now and then when you leave the house at the same time. Not the family you drop your windows on.

All in all, however, I know tons of people are going to love this show. It’s the kind of escapist home design tariff we are all interested in (especially during the COVID times), and it can be very itchy for now. Dream Home Makeover does no harm. It just doesn’t do anything particularly new or fun, and as I mentioned earlier, the aesthetic feels like anything we see on these shows and design instagrams these days. I can wear this very well while cleaning my apartment or folding my laundry, but it’s not the kind of thing I’ll run around recommending to people. (And the name is going to drive me absolutely crazy until the day I inevitably forget it).

Sex and skin: Not such a show folks.

Farewell shot: The Call Family sits in their new room enjoying what the McGees have done for them while Shea’s voice-over explains Studio McGee’s goal to make people fall in love with the place where they live.

Pilot-y Line Bridge: While Shea is out in the car to see the first customers the show spends time with, she says, “We’re a good team,” and Syd replies, “Who would have thought that?” Moan. I suppose it coincides with the rest of the maddening nature of the show.

Our call: SKIP IT … but don’t feel bad playing the game, when you’ve seen every other good home renovation and need a fix for now. It’s good, pointless home improvement feed. However, when there are so many others doing more innovative and exciting things it is hard to argue for it Dream Home MakeoverPlace in the queue.

Jade Budowski is a freelance writer who knows how to ruin punchlines and host age fathers celebrity crushes. Follow her on Twitter: @ Jadebudowski.

Strom Dream Home Makeover on Netflix