DSC06725HGTV host Tony Frassrand was in Minneapolis this past week filming a new episode of his show, reZONED that’s produced by High Noon Entertainment out of Denver Colorado. On successive days between shoots we set him up in recording studios A and B to record voiceover B-roll for a couple of episodes that have already been shot and are currently in production.

With this crew’s schedule being fairly tight (and with most TV budgets being the same these days) we ditched any idea of an ISDN Digital Patch or Source-Connect for these recording sessions. Keeping it simple, we just rigged up a phone patch and had High Noon listen in and direct Tony that way.

Tony, in from California, was understandably a bit wigged by the huge temperature drop that clubbed us this week – we went from 60+º on Saturday to 30º with a -4º wind chill and 45 mph winds on Tuesday. Thank (insert your favorite Higher Power here) for our Downtown Minneapolis Skyway System. Without it, we’d be just a cold Omaha with pro sports. Like Green Bay.

Congenial host and all around nice guy, Tony Frassrand.

When Tony arrived at Babble-On the windows outside studio A were gripped in a branching frost and freezing steam was floating off the corner of Hennepin & 6th. Might’ve been pretty with a little snow, holiday lights and a hot toddy in hand – but, as it was, it was just an excuse to pile on the wool and grumble a bit.

Tony had been filming in this weather at locations in Duluth and Saint Paul and was soon to be on his way to New Ulm to finish up this episode. At the moment, we don’t have any info on when this particular show will air.

Tony’s Show takes a distinctly different arc than most of the Extreme Makeover shows that are swamping the levees of televisionland these days. reZONED looks in on homes that have been created from peculiar or interesting spaces. The show has featured a High School that became a bachelor pad, an old dam and power station that morphed into a rustic family home, and a commercial ferry that became a waterfront home in San Francisco. The show takes particular favor on properties where many aspects of the original structure and its purpose are preserved and maintained. Here in the TwinCities you can catch reZONED Sunday nights at 8:30 Central Time on HGTV.

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