NEED TO KNOW
Bobby Berk is getting candid about the timing of his recent HGTV show announcement.
In June, PEOPLE exclusively revealed that Berk, 43, would be hosting his own HGTV series called Junk or Jackpot? The announcement came one day after Netflix revealed Queer Eye, the hit makeover series Berk starred on for eight seasons, was officially ending after 10 seasons.
“I have to say, I swear on my mother’s life, my show announcement date was set,” the interior designer tells PEOPLE during the At Home With Narwal event in Los Angeles on Aug. 21. “No, this was planned. Show announcements don’t happen on a whim.”
The new series will follow Berk as he helps homeowners decide to sell some of their unique collectibles to raise enough funds to update their homes.
“We go out and we find people who are collectors,” Berk describes. “But these collections have really taken over their lives and sometimes in a very negative way. So I go in, I help them get it under control.”
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Despite the unintentional timing of his show announcement, Berk admits he received criticism for it — including from one of his former costars.
“Even Karamo [Brown] was like, ‘Girl, the day after?’ I’m like, ‘No, no, no. I promise you it was already planned,” Berk explains.
He adds: “Some people were like, ‘Couldn’t you have waited?’ And I’m like, ‘Well, yes, but no.’ ”
“I mean, [Netflix] could have easily given me a heads-up on when that was going to be announced,” Berk says. “I mean, I was on the show for [eight] seasons, but yeah, it’s fine.”
In Queer Eye, Berk starred alongside his “Fab Five” costars Brown, Tan France, Antoni Porowski and Jonathan Van Ness. He announced his exit from the show in November 2023.
Ilana Panich-Linsman/Netflix
In a January 2024 interview with Vanity Fair, the Right at Home author explained he experienced a rift in his relationship with France.
“Tan and I had a moment,” he told the outlet. “There was a situation, and that’s between Tan and I, and it has nothing to do with the show. It was something personal that had been brewing — and nothing romantic, just to clarify that.”
Following Berk’s exit, HGTV regular Jeremiah Brent took over the role of decorating guru.
Ilana Panich-Linsman/Netflix
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A source told PEOPLE following Berk’s exit that he had “a handful of projects in development and is also busy with his own company.”
Junk or Jackpot? is set to premiere in late 2025. The six-episode season, executive produced by John Cena, is Berk’s first official solo venture with HGTV. He officially made his network debut as a guest judge on the home competition show Rock the Block in April 2025.
“I’m excited to help passionate people sift through their cherished items and give them reimagined spaces that will best honor what they hold dear,” Berk said in a HGTV press release.
