HGTV Flips for Gays in New Home Improvement Show ‘Down to the Studs’ (Video)

HGTV ratings will likely hit the roof as the home improvement network breaks ground on its latest offering — a gay version of its hit show “Property Brothers,” featuring an explosion of six pack abs courtesy of its hosts, a married same-sex couple from Tennessee.

The network recently aired a pilot for “Down to the Studs,” starring husbands PJ and Thomas, who refer to themselves as the “Property Lovers.”

Thomas is the designer and PJ is a realtor. Together the couple — along with their neighbor and Thomas’ sister — find and then flip houses in their hometown of Chattanooga.

Also Read: Ellen, 'DWTS' Bromance, 2 Sexiest Men Alive: How HGTV Proves 'Niche' Isn't a Dirty Word

The network used the June 24th episode as a test run. It’s unclear whether the show will get picked up. In the meantime, PJ and Thomas have been building up buzz on their Instagram account with a flurry of half-naked pictures along with the hashtag: #HGTVDowntotheStuds.

The couple told a local TV station that they had “a production company contact us because of a social media account that Thomas and I started. The account at the time was called the ‘Property Lovers,’ and we had a pretty big following on that so it kind of just developed from that.”

The news hit the gay blogosphere like thunder on a hot Tennessee summer day.

“This gay couple is hoping to take HGTV by storm,” proclaimed Queerty in its headline. While the Gaily Grind went with: “HGTV’s Newest Hosts Are An Adorable Married Gay Couple.”

Also Read: Benham Brothers Speak Out on HGTV Show Being Canned: We're Committed to Biblical Principles

The network, which has a large gay audience, has been under fire recently after Chip and Joanna Gaines, stars of HGTV’s hit show “Fixer Upper” made headlines last year for their association with a Texas church whose pastor had advocated converting LGBT people into being straight. In 2014 HGTV was forced to cancel “Flip It Forward,” a show starring twins David and Jason Benham, after the brothers told a right-wing site that “homosexuality and its agenda that is attacking the nation.”

You can watch a Q&A with the couple below:

Also Read: 'Flip or Flop' Star Tarek El Moussa Talks About His 'Bad Decisions' (Video)

Related stories from TheWrap:

How Scarlett Johansson's 'Rough Night' Became the Rare Studio Comedy That's LGBT-Friendly

GLAAD Rips Trump's Silence on LGBTQ Pride Month

'Baywatch,' 'Alien: Covenant' Kick Off 'Nearly Invisible' Summer for LGBT Characters

Hollywood Studios Fail LGBTQ Characters Again, Especially People of Color, Study Says