DIY on the fly

'Rehab Addict," the latest series to join the home-improvement genre, may appear to be built on a shaky foundation: a two-person film crew, a no-name host, a catering budget that barely allows for a case of bottled water and a home base in that anti-Hollywood prairie called Minneapolis. But it's a blueprint that's proven sturdy and successful for Magnetic Productions, a year-old company that churns out four cable shows without a yardful of Teamsters, marquee names or backbreaking expenses.

"It's very tricky to produce TV in our category -- home improvement -- and they've done a great job for us," said Andy Singer, general manger for the DIY Network, which beams Magnetic's "Addict," "Sweat Equity" and "Bathtastic!" into 54 million homes. Coming soon: "I Hate My Kitchen!"

Watching a Magnetic team construct a show is like watching a couple of carpenters make a treehouse out of twigs. During a recent set visit at a Minneapolis house being featured this inaugural season, I kept asking when the crew would return from lunch, only to discover that I was already sharing the front porch with the entire team -- two producers from New York and host Nicole Curtis.

Curtis, a real estate agent who bought the foreclosed property over a year ago, long before she was anointed a TV personality, believes the house once resembled a Barbie mansion. Not anymore. The 4,000-square-foot monster came without heat and every single wall suffered from water damage.

Curtis' job is not only to bring back the home's original beauty, but to explain her every move to a camera that's almost always inches away from her face as she sprays down the bathtub, reinstalls the marble sink, refinishes the lights, waters the lawn and tries to avoid stepping on her Teacup Yorkie, Paulie, who scampers around the piles of boxes and slides across the sawdust-covered floor.

"For me, it comes natural," said Curtis, who has little TV experience but was hired after guesting on another Magnetic show. DIY execs signed off on her the same day they saw her demo tape. "I'm a talker anyways," she said.

DIY's hosts don't require a script, a dressing room or a high salary. Curtis said her biggest payoff is the goodies donated to her house from companies such as Kohler, Bobcat and the Tile Shop in exchange for free advertising. What hosts do need is a rapport with audiences. That's where the Midwestern charm comes in handy.

"The talent has been really relatable and really likable," said DIY's Singer. "They come across just like anyone watching."

Perfect topic for hard times

Magnetic's president, John Kitchener, isn't a native Minnesotan, but he might as well be.

He came from Massachusetts 30 years ago to help a buddy run an ice cream truck business and soon migrated to TV work. Last year, he bought Edelman Productions from his longtime boss, Steve Edelman. Since taking over, he's won a national Emmy for Travel Channel's "The Relic Hunter With Ian Grant" (the show was not renewed, however) and expanded the staff from 10 people to 30.

Kitchener wouldn't go into detail about profits, but said the company is in better shape than he would have imagined last year.

"I think we represent a certain part of America that's underrepresented, and that works in our favor," said Kitchener, who's in his early 50s. "There's a certain look to our homes and a certain kind of attitude that's friendly and open with no hidden agenda. We're not sarcastic, not snarky, but we're not overly intellectual, either."

That kind of onscreen success only works if the folks on the other side of the camera are equally amenable and talented. Magnetic shows usually only require one or two cameras, thanks to veteran producers and top-of-the-line equipment. Kitchener said the high-definition digital cameras they use once cost $110,000 each. Today, you can get one for $10,000. Thanks to technological advancements, shows can now be edited by people from their homes, hundreds of miles away -- another cost saver.

"If you look at what's popping on cable, like 'Pawn Stars,' 'Scrappers' or 'Real Housewives,' none of that stuff requires huge crews," he said. "Once you've mastered on-the-fly documentary filmmaking, you can shoot almost anything."

This no-nonsense approach seems a perfect fit for the ever-growing do-it-yourself craze, which was once limited to "This Old House." Now it's everywhere from Travel Channel to History Channel.

And then there's the DIY Network, which does nothing but guide you through home repairs. Singer said that 80 percent of its viewers own their own homes -- and many can't afford to buy new places during tough times.

"If you're not going to be moving into a bigger, new house, you're going to be putting your resources into fixing your current place up," Kitchener said. That may not be great news for the economy, but it is another reason why Magnetic is poised to keep growing.

njustin@startribune.com • 612-673-7431 • Follow Justin on Twitter: @nealjustin