Design Showdown in Las Vegas Will Give One Winner His or Her Own HGTV Show

NEW YORK, July 25 /PRNewswire/ -- HGTV Design Star, the network's top- rated series, is back for a high-stakes second season in Las Vegas with 11 new finalists who are ready to roll the dice for a chance to win the jackpot -- a starring role in his or her own HGTV show. The competing finalists, many of whom run their own interior design businesses, are self-taught or formally trained and include a stay-at-home mom, a video game designer, a celebrity party planner, a landscape architect, a hairstylist and a former fashion model. The HGTV Design Star season two finalists are Scott Corridan, Santa Barbara, Calif.; Todd Davis, San Francisco, Calif.; Josh Foss, St. Paul, Minn.; Josh Johnson, Hendersonville, Tenn.; Neeraja Lockart, Palm Springs, Calif.; Robb Mariani, Orlando, Fla.; Lisa Millard, Berwick, Pa.; Kim Myles, New York City; Adriana Nussbaumer, Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.; Christina Ray, Atlanta, Ga. and Will Smith, Charlotte, N.C.

HGTV Design Star Finalists: Front Row: Todd Davis, Will Smith, Neeraja Lockart and Adriana Nussbaumer. Second Row: Host Clive Pearse, Christina Ray, Josh Foss, Josh Johnson, Kim Myles, Scott Corridan, Robb Mariani and Lisa Millard. (PRNewsFoto/HGTV, Dennis Galante) NEW YORK, NY UNITED STATES 07/24/2007

Each designer will do whatever it takes to impress the returning panel of judges -- architect and interior designer Vern Yip; designer and author Cynthia Rowley and In Style magazine's executive editor, Martha McCully. The reality competition, set in glittering Las Vegas and hosted by Clive Pearse, will air weekly in its regular time slot beginning Sunday, July 29 at 9 p.m. ET/PT through September 16.

The series is off to a sizzling start as viewers watch each finalist size up their competition and learn how to share a single Vegas-style condo with wildly-different personality types during the show's nine-week run. In the end, it's anyone's guess which finalist will successfully navigate the clever design challenges and emerge victorious as the winner of his or her own HGTV show.

"The competition in this season of HGTV Design Star is fierce," said James Bolosh, vice president, event programming, HGTV. "We've raised the bar and these finalists are ready to design to win. Each episode features finalists from a variety of backgrounds and all levels of expertise, but the passion they bring to each challenge will surprise viewers who might be skeptical that HGTV can find another talent like season one winner, David Bromstad, who is both an incredible designer and a perfect fit for television."

HGTV Design Star also will invite viewers to extend their viewing experience at http://hgtv.com/designstar. Once the judges have narrowed the competition to two finalists, viewers will get the opportunity to vote for their favorite designer online or via cell phone. The virtual polls to select the winner will open on Sunday, September 9 at 10 p.m. ET, immediately after the eighth episode, and will close at noon ET on Wednesday, September 12. Viewers can vote once per day online and up to five times per day via cell phone text message to HGTV1 or 44881. Viewers also will get chances to win fantastic prizes valued at $2,500 and up throughout the series.

About HGTV

HGTV, America's leader in home and lifestyle programming, is distributed to more than 92 million U.S. households and is one of cable's top-rated networks. HGTV's website, http://www.hgtv.com/ is the nation's leading online home and garden destination that attracts an average of 5.4 million unique visitors per month. HGTV owns 33 percent of HGTV Canada and provides much of the Canadian network's daily programming. The network's branded programming also can be seen in 128 territories across all seven continents and its selected programming is available to service men and women on board Navy ships and through American Forces Radio & Television Service (AFRTS), which services more than 1,000 outlets in over 175 countries. Headquartered in Knoxville, Tenn., with offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Nashville and New York, HGTV is wholly owned by The E.W. Scripps Company (NYSE:SSP) , which also operates Food Network, DIY Network, Fine Living and Great American Country.

Source: HGTV

CONTACT: Audrey Adlam of HGTV, +1-212-549-8599, aadlam@hgtv.com; or
Jacqueline Majers Lachman, Cast Publicist, +1-914-409-5230, jackanese@aol.com;
or Eileen Campion of Dera, Roslan & Campion Public Relations, +1-212-966-4600,
eileen@drcpublicrelations.com, for HGTV

Web site: http://hgtv.com/designstar
http://www.hgtv.com/