HGTV orders “Wild Vacation Rentals” with D’Arcy Carden and Sherry Cola for 2026

HGTV is leaning into the travel boom for 2026, ordering a new unscripted series that sends two sharp-tongued comics into some of the most unconventional getaways on the market. Wild Vacation Rentals will be fronted by D’Arcy Carden and Sherry Cola, pairing destination eye candy with a tone that skews more irreverent than aspirational.

The series is part of a broader push to keep HGTV’s schedule stocked with personality-driven formats that can cut through a crowded streaming and cable landscape. By building a show around offbeat stays and two hosts known for quick-fire banter, the network is betting that viewers want more than just pretty kitchens and ocean views from their next travel-adjacent binge.

HGTV’s 2026 slate goes “wild” on purpose

HGTV is not treating Wild Vacation Rentals as a one-off experiment, it is positioning the show as a pillar of a 2026 lineup that leans harder into spectacle and novelty. The network has ordered the series to join returning titles that already trade in eye-popping real estate, signaling a strategy that favors distinctive formats over generic house tours, a direction underscored when HGTV confirmed the new show alongside fresh seasons of Zillow Gone Wild and Castle Impossible in a single programming announcement anchored to HGTV’s 2026 slate.

That same slate adds more than 30 episodes of original content, a volume play that reflects how aggressively HGTV wants to hold its ground with viewers who now split time between linear channels and apps like Max, Hulu, and YouTube TV. The network framed Wild Vacation Rentals as a key part of that expansion when it detailed how the new series and the renewals would collectively pad out its schedule, noting that the additions are bundled into a broader plan to grow its unscripted footprint in 2026 in a release highlighting over 30 episodes of original content.

D’Arcy Carden and Sherry Cola bring comedy-first chemistry

Putting D’Arcy Carden and Sherry Cola at the center of Wild Vacation Rentals signals that HGTV wants the hosts to be as much of a draw as the properties themselves. Both comics are known for character-driven humor and sharp observational riffs, which gives the series a built-in tone that is more travelogue-meets-comedy special than traditional design show, a choice made explicit when HGTV identified Sherry Cola and D’Arcy Carden as the faces of the eight half-hour episodes.

The network is also clearly banking on their chemistry to differentiate the show from more earnest travel series. In Wild Vacation Rentals, comedians Sherry Cola and D’Arcy Carden are described as the duo who will guide viewers through the properties, a framing that puts their reactions and rapport at the center of the format rather than treating them as interchangeable tour guides, a point reinforced when HGTV’s broader programming roundup highlighted that In Wild Vacation Rentals, Sherry Cola and D’Arcy Carden will front the new series.

What “wild” actually means for the vacation rentals

HGTV is not using “wild” as empty branding, it is leaning into the idea that today’s travelers are chasing stays that feel like experiences in themselves. The network has framed the show around getaway possibilities that go far beyond standard beach condos or suburban Airbnbs, promising viewers a tour of properties that stand out for their architecture, locations, and themes, a focus that aligns with HGTV’s own description of how the series will spotlight “endless getaway possibilities” and the way people now seek out distinctive décor and imaginative architecture, language that appears in a synopsis explaining that With today’s endless getaway possibilities viewers are drawn to incredible designs and unique quirks.

That positioning suggests the show will lean into the same appetite that has made treehouses, converted buses, and themed tiny homes go viral on platforms like Instagram and TikTok. Rather than simply ranking properties by price or square footage, Wild Vacation Rentals is set up to celebrate the quirks that make a stay memorable, echoing the way HGTV has described its other offbeat property tours as journeys through the weirdest, wackiest, and wildest listings on the market, language that appears in a synopsis promising that The series will continue to take viewers on tours of the weirdest, wackiest and wildest properties.

How Wild Vacation Rentals fits into HGTV’s “weird property” universe

Wild Vacation Rentals is not arriving in a vacuum, it is being slotted into a mini-universe of HGTV shows that treat unusual real estate as entertainment. The network has already trained viewers to expect outlandish listings through Zillow Gone Wild, which turns internet-famous properties into episodic television, and Castle Impossible, which follows ambitious transformations of historic and unconventional structures, a continuity HGTV underscored when it announced the new series alongside renewals for Zillow Gone Wild and Castle Impossible.

That shared DNA matters because it gives HGTV a way to cross-promote and build themed nights around “wild” properties, something the network has already hinted at by grouping the shows together in its returning lineup. In its breakdown of which HGTV titles are coming back, the network explicitly tied Castle Impossible and other offbeat formats to the same creative team that is now behind Wild Vacation Rentals, noting that the slate of returning series includes the projects associated with Nobody Wants This and that viewers can expect more from those producers in the shows that are Which HGTV Shows Are Returning With ‘Nobody Wants This’ Stars.

The Jack McBrayer connection and HGTV’s comedy pivot

HGTV’s embrace of Wild Vacation Rentals also fits a broader pivot toward comedic hosts who can carry a format as strongly as the homes they feature. Jack McBrayer, who fronts Castle Impossible, is a key part of that shift, and the network has been explicit about how his presence shapes that series, describing how Jack will meet the characters who have embraced non-traditional homes with distinctive décor and imaginative architecture, a description that underlines HGTV’s belief that a performer’s personality can anchor a show about unusual spaces, as seen when it explained that Jack will meet the characters who have embraced non-traditional homes.

By pairing D’Arcy Carden and Sherry Cola on Wild Vacation Rentals, HGTV is effectively extending that comedy-forward approach into the travel space. The network has already clustered a group of performers around its “nobody wants this” and “castle” projects, including Jack, Ian Fig and Daphne Fig, and it has now added Carden and Cola to that loose ensemble of recognizable faces, a connection that was made explicit when HGTV spotlighted Jack, Ian Fig and Daphne Fig alongside Sherry Cola and D’Arcy Carden in its promotional materials.

Why HGTV is betting on “getaway TV” for 2026

The decision to greenlight Wild Vacation Rentals now reflects how travel and real estate have blurred into a single lifestyle category for viewers. Short-term rental platforms and social media have made it normal for people to browse fantasy stays the way they once flipped through home catalogs, and HGTV is clearly trying to capture that behavior on screen by turning the hunt for a memorable vacation into episodic television, a strategy it folded into a larger 2026 content plan when it confirmed that HGTV has ordered a new series and renewed two others to return in 2026, explicitly naming Wild Vacation Rentals as the fresh entry in a lineup that also includes HGTV has ordered a new series and renewed Zillow Gone Wild and Castle Impossible.

There is also a practical programming logic to the move. Vacation-rental content travels well internationally, can be repackaged for streaming, and lends itself to social clips that highlight a single outrageous property or host reaction. HGTV has framed Wild Vacation Rentals as part of a broader effort to refresh its brand for the new year, a point that surfaced when the network’s plans were summarized as HGTV going wild with its programming for 2026 and positioning the new series as a key part of what the network is bringing to viewers for the new year, language that appeared in coverage noting that HGTV is going wild with their programming for 2026.