Catch a Contractor
Catch a Contractor is an American reality television home improvement series that premiered March 9, 2014, on Spike.[1] The show features former carpenter Adam Carolla,[2][3] licensed contractor Skip Bedell and his wife Alison, a private investigator. The series premiere was the most watched debut of a Spike original series since March 2011.[4]
Catch a Contractor
- Adam Carolla
- Alison Bedell
- Skip Bedell
United States
English
3
32
- Adam Carolla
- Brant Pinvidic
- D.J. Nurre
- J.D. Roth
- Todd A. Nelson
22 minutes (1st season),
44 minutes (future seasons)
3 Ball Entertainment
March 9, 2014 –
August 30, 2015
Broadcast[edit]
The series premiered on March 9, 2014. In April 2014, Spike renewed Catch a Contractor for a second season and expanded the episodes' length to sixty minutes from thirty.[8] In December 2014, Spike ordered a third season of Catch a Contractor,[9] the first episode of which aired on June 21, 2015 and premiered to 748,000 viewers.[10]
Internationally, the series premiered in Australia on A&E on September 22, 2015, and has since been syndicated in Italy, Europe, Great Britain, the Middle East and Canada.[11]
On May 1, 2016, Carolla confirmed via his verified Twitter account that Catch a Contractor would not return.[12]
Lawsuits[edit]
In May 2013, Catch a Contractor performed a repair at the home of Rochelle Kirk and Scott Waters of Covina, California, whose bathroom had been torn apart and abandoned by a scheming contractor. Although the repair was completed, they alleged a sewer pipe that was moved during the job was never reconnected, resulting in two hundred gallons of raw sewage spilling into the home undetected. Kirk and Waters filed suit against Viacom and several contractors in February 2014 for $2.87 million, citing the network's refusal to respond to their reports of the situation and a claim that several contractors that helped perform the repair were not licensed.[13] In May 2014, the suit was dismissed due to releases the Plaintiffs had previously signed, and because the Defendants' actions were agreed to be "in furtherance of free speech rights" and protected under California's "anti-SLAPP" statute. Plaintiffs were ordered to pay defendants legal fees.[14][15]
Another lawsuit was filed in March 2015, which cites defamation, fraud, false imprisonment, and violation of right to name or likeness.[16] According to the contractor, he began working on remodeling the client's’ house in July 2013. In September of that year, a building inspector flagged a framing issue, requiring an engineering proposal. The contractor alleged the clients moved into the home in spite of the fact that the repair had not been made, and then, in October 2013, stopped payment and ultimately canceled his contract.[17] Instead of receiving a check for a new client, he was instead met with the hosts as well as a "bouncer" that prevented him from leaving the premises. It goes on to further allege that Adam promised that by signing a release, there would be no further repercussions (along with a $10,000 payout for appearing on the show).[18][19] However, the plaintiff alleged that bid bond was revised by the homeowners just days later, and alleged he was instead "painted in an unfairly negative light" and labeled as a "criminal" by hosts and clients. This case has since been dismissed by the Court with no settlements being awarded.[20][21]