Erin and Ben Napier explain why they can’t host the next Home Town Takeover in Canada

If you are a fan of Erin and Ben Napier, you probably expected to see them leading the next Home Town Takeover, even with the franchise heading north of the border. Instead, the couple is sitting this season out, and not by choice. Their absence comes down to a mix of contracts, broadcast rules, and a new Canadian focus that reshapes what you can expect from the series.

How Home Town Takeover became a small-town TV phenomenon

You first met Erin and Ben Napier as the Mississippi couple who turned Home Town into a comfort-watch about restoring old houses and reviving a historic downtown. Home Town Takeover scaled that idea up, shifting from one house at a time to an entire community, with the pair helping residents reimagine main streets, public spaces, and local businesses. The format quickly became a signature HGTV event, and if you search for Home Town Takeover today, you see how closely the franchise is tied to their names.

On screen, you watched them move from their base in Laurel to places like Fort Morg, where they posed in front of finished murals and treated the whole town as a design project. That earlier season in Fort Morg showed you how the Takeover concept blends construction, civic pride, and reality TV pacing, with Ben and Erin Napier acting as both designers and community cheerleaders. Their chemistry and the emotional payoffs for residents helped cement the show as one of HGTV’s most ambitious small-town experiments.

Why the next season is heading to Canada instead

The new twist is that the franchise is crossing the border, with the next iteration set in a Canadian community instead of a U.S. town. For you as a viewer, that means the familiar Home Town Takeover blueprint is being applied to a different national context, with new rules, new partners, and a different broadcast ecosystem. The move is not just a change of scenery, it is a structural shift that affects who can appear on camera and how the show is produced.

HGTV has already started looking for an “extraordinary” Canadian small town with a population of 20,000 or fewer, inviting residents to pitch their main streets, gathering places, or changemakers’ homes for a full-scale transformation. The Canadian version is framed as Home Town Takeover Canada, with support from HGTV stars and a focus on revitalizing local gathering spots and community hubs. That national framing is exactly what sets up the problem for Erin and Ben Napier.

The contract catch: why Erin and Ben say they are “not allowed”

When you hear that Erin and Ben Napier are not returning, it is tempting to assume they simply wanted a break. Instead, they have been clear that the decision is not really theirs. In recent interviews, they explained that they are “not allowed” to host the new Canadian spinoff because of how their existing production deals are structured. Their work on Home Town and related projects is tied to a specific production company and U.S. broadcast framework, which does not automatically translate to a Canadian broadcast show.

Erin Napier described the situation bluntly, saying that “Yeah, a Canadian broadcast show” needs its own arrangement and that the new Takeover will be led by “another husband and wife team,” not by them. That explanation, shared as they discussed the upcoming spinoff, makes it clear that the barrier is contractual and regulatory rather than creative enthusiasm, and it is why they have emphasized that they simply are not allowed to host this particular Home Town spinoff.

How Canadian broadcast rules reshape the franchise

Once the franchise shifts into a Canadian broadcast environment, you are no longer just dealing with a change in backdrop, you are dealing with a different set of industry rules. Canadian television has its own licensing, production, and content requirements, which is why the new Takeover is being treated as a distinct Canadian broadcast show rather than a simple extension of the existing U.S. series. That distinction is what forces HGTV to rethink who appears on camera and which companies are behind the scenes.

For you, the viewer, the practical result is that the network is building a new hosting team that fits within those Canadian parameters instead of importing the Napiers wholesale. Reporting on the spinoff notes that the show will still promise to revitalize a small Canadian town by targeting specific community spaces, but it will do so with a different couple at the center. The premise remains familiar, yet the legal and broadcast framework means Erin and Ben Napier cannot simply step in as they did in earlier seasons of Home Town Takeover.

What Erin and Ben have said about stepping aside

When you listen closely to how Erin and Ben Napier talk about the change, you hear a mix of pragmatism and genuine affection for the format they helped build. They have stressed that they love the idea of helping another small town, but that the Canadian setting and broadcast structure put the new season outside their control. In their words, the show’s new setting “prevents them” from serving as hosts, a phrase that underlines how much this is about logistics rather than a loss of interest.

They have also framed their absence as an opportunity for fresh faces, noting that another husband and wife team will step into the spotlight. That handoff is not just polite spin, it reflects their understanding that a franchise can evolve while still honoring its roots. As they explained why they cannot host the upcoming season of Home Town Takeover, they made a point of staying supportive of the new iteration rather than treating it as a rival to their own work.

The official line: production companies and Season 4 logistics

Behind the scenes, the explanation you get from the couple lines up with what has been reported about Season 4 logistics. According to their account, “Our production company” is tied to the U.S. version of the franchise, while the Canadian edition is being handled under a different arrangement. That split means the same hosts cannot simply carry over, even if the network wanted to keep them front and center. The phrase “Our production company” has become shorthand for the contractual wall that separates their existing shows from the new Canadian project.

Coverage of the upcoming season has echoed that framing, noting that the show’s new setting is the key reason they will not be back as hosts for Season 4. When you read that, it becomes clear that the barrier is not about ratings or creative differences, but about how the series is being produced and distributed. The couple has been open about this, and reports that “According to” them, the new setting blocks their return help explain why the next Season will look and feel different at the hosting level.

What the Canadian town and viewers can still expect

Even without the Napiers on site, you can expect the Canadian edition to follow the same emotional beats that made earlier seasons resonate. The call for submissions highlights main streets, gathering places, and changemakers’ homes, signaling that the show will still focus on the civic heart of a town rather than just cosmetic upgrades. For residents of the chosen community, that means a chance to see their local coffee shops, parks, and community centers turned into national TV characters in their own right.

Network executives have also framed the Canadian setting as a chance to showcase how small towns north of the border balance heritage buildings, local businesses, and modern needs. Earlier seasons in places like Fort Morg showed you how a single mural or renovated storefront could become a symbol of renewal, and there is every indication that the Canadian town will get similar treatment. As one report on Home Town Takeover noted, the show’s power lies in how it turns local landmarks into shared stories, and that core idea is not changing.

How this shift fits into the Napiers’ wider HGTV universe

If you follow Erin and Ben Napier across their various HGTV projects, you know that Home Town Takeover is only one piece of their on-screen life. Another of Erin and Ben Napier’s HGTV series is still rooted firmly in the United States, where they continue to renovate homes and support small-town revitalization without crossing into Canadian broadcast territory. That ongoing workload helps explain why they can afford to be generous about handing the Takeover baton to another couple, rather than fighting to stay attached at all costs.

Reports on their schedule and commitments have emphasized that they remain central to the broader Home Town brand, even as the Takeover concept branches out. When you read coverage under headlines like “Why Erin, Ben Napier Can, Host New Season of, Home Town Takeover, Another of Erin and Ben Napier,” you see how their names are still used as shorthand for the entire franchise. The Canadian pivot does not change that, it simply adds a parallel track where new hosts will interpret the same small-town playbook that Erin and Ben helped popularize, as reflected in Why Erin coverage.

What their absence means for you as a fan

For you, the most immediate change is emotional rather than structural: you will not see Erin and Ben Napier walking Canadian streets, sketchbook and measuring tape in hand, guiding residents through the process. If you came to Home Town Takeover specifically for their banter and design sensibility, that is a real loss. At the same time, their own comments suggest they could still appear in limited ways, hinting that they might show up “like, guest stars” rather than full-time hosts if the logistics allow it.

That possibility of cameos keeps a thread of continuity alive, even as a new couple takes over the day-to-day hosting duties. In NEED TO KNOW style coverage, the couple has been described as stepping back from hosting while remaining supportive of the franchise, with Erin and Ben Napier reiterating that Home Town Takeover will continue without them at the helm. For you as a viewer, that means adjusting your expectations, embracing a new pair of guides for the Canadian season, and watching to see whether The HGTV brand can translate the Napiers’ small-town magic into a new national context, as outlined in NEED coverage.

Supporting sources: Untitled, HGTV Stars Ben and Erin Napier Reveal They Aren’t ‘Allowed …, HGTV Stars Ben and Erin Napier Reveal They Aren’t ‘Allowed’ to Host ‘Home Tow…, HGTV Stars Ben and Erin Napier Reveal They Aren’t ‘Allowed’ to …, Why Erin & Ben Napier Won’t Be Hosting ‘Home Town Takeover’, Why Erin & Ben Napier Can’t Host New Season of ‘Home Town Takeover’, Why Erin & Ben Napier Can’t Host New Season of ‘Home …, HGTV Seeks Extraordinary Canadian Small Town to Star in …, Why Erin & Ben Napier Can’t Host New Season … – Fox Bangor, Erin and Ben Napier Say They Won’t Host Their New “Home Town” Spin Off, Here’….

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*This article was developed with AI-powered tools and has been carefully reviewed by our editors.