Once known as one of Hollywood’s tough guys, Mr. T, the one-time bouncer and mohawked member of TV’s “The A-Team” will show a tender side as he helps people in need of redoing kitchens and living rooms as part of a new show on Scripps Networks’ DIY. Mr. T’s “I Pity the Tool” is the latest in a growing series of programs on the cable network that place celebrities in the midst of tricky home repairs and remodels.
Daryl Hall, Vanilla Ice and William Shatner are among the famous folk who have come to DIY to show off their skills in taking homes apart and rebuilding them. And the network has good reason to supplement fare like “Rescue Renovation” and “Rehab Addict,” said Kathleen Finch, president of Scripps’ home-category networks HGTV, DIY and Great American Country. “We are bringing people to the network for reasons other than just watching a demolition or a construction project,” she said.
The celebrity method has popped up in other parts of the Scripps empire as well. Valerie Bertinelli has been spotted in Food Network’s daytime lineup, while programming featuring rapper Rev Run and actress Jennie Garth has been featured on DIY or HGTV. Scripps has gained a reputation for turning chefs and home-arts experts into stars, but the company has also realized it stands to gain by making use of people whose fame is already established.
When viewers tune in Mr. T’s new program, the first episode of which is slated to debut in 2015, they will also get something else: a sentimental tale. The pilot will show Mr. T helping out an old associate, a man whom Mr. T visited when the guy was a teenager and had broken his neck while playing in the snow (the man is back on his feet again, with a large family). Future episodes, slated for 2016, are expected to also show Mr. T lending a hand to people who need it, like military veterans or people going through hard times.
“I am tough, but deep inside my toughness, I like to let people know I’m an old-fashioned mama’s boy,” said Mr. T, who has spent recent years working on commercials, a short-lived reality series on Viacom’s TV Land and a book. “I have a heart of gold, but I’m really a marshmallow in my heart.”
Scripps and DIY are set to unveil the series as part of the company’s presentation for the upfront market, when U.S. TV networks try to sell the bulk of their advertising for the coming programming season. DIY’s celebrity series, Finch said, helped the network grow ratings among its target audience, adults 25-54, more than 8% in 2014.
