HGTV‘s “Rock the Block” is back for season 6 and the renovation stars competing have some big challenges, including time and money. Host Ty Pennington shares the most surprising aspect of filming the show this season.
Ty Pennington Dishes on Biggest ‘Rock the Block’ Challenges
“Rock the Block” season 6 pits four teams against each other as they renovate properties outside of Salt Lake City, Utah — with only a $250,000 budget. The budget limitation is challenging, but Pennington said there’s something more surprising about the competition.
In an April 2025 interview with TV Insider, Pennington was asked what might surprise viewers about the competition.
His answer? “Weather.”
Pennington explained, “Honestly, one day it’s 70 degrees and lovely and the next it’s 22 degrees and feels like 16 below. It’s Utah and the weather changes daily.”
He also addressed the time limitation involved, as they only have six weeks to renovate the homes. “Any design show you do on television, when you have big ideas and the question is can you pull it off in the time you have,” the host shared. “I’m someone who really understands that. You’ve got your sights and hopes of doing something really huge. You get everything you want delivered in time to pull off that incredible thing. Sometimes you have to settle.”
Pennington said, “As a designer, that’s one of the most frustrating things. How you work with what you can get compared to what you were hoping to get. A lot of times you have to take things into your own hands. That leads to a lot of stress.”
The host believes that stress combined with being on TV is “what makes it such a great show.” Pennington noted, “Do you want to share the drama or do you want to compress it and sweep it under the rug?”
Pennington Promises a ‘Big’ Season of ‘Rock the Block’
In an April interview with PopCulture.com, Pennington shared what viewers can expect on “Rock the Block.”
“This season is big,” he said. “It’s bigger lots, bigger houses, bigger views — I mean, the setting could not be more beautiful than the state of Utah. But I would say this is a really good sort of variety pack of talent and style competing for one trophy, which is a street sign.”
Each team has the same challenge ahead of them, but who will come out the winner? Pennington shared, “I think the way to really find out what an artist is capable of is to take them out of their comfort zone, throw them in the middle of a desert, and say, ‘Create the best work you’ve ever done.’”
He added, “‘And you have the exact same supplies, materials, and square footage as everybody else. Now show us your best work.’ And so that’s why [‘Rock the Block’] is my favorite show on HGTV.”