Bobby Berk has seen a lot, but a $100,000 surprise on his new HGTV show made his jaw drop

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Honestly, Bobby Berk is just amazing at genuine reactions! You’d think after eight seasons of ‘Queer Eye,’ traveling everywhere and helping people with their homes, he’d have seen it all. But he still manages to be totally surprised! Plus, he wrote a book last year, ‘Right at Home,’ about how good design can really improve your mental wellbeing. He’s been all over TV – even in a Taylor Swift video! – and his website, BobbyBerk.com, is full of incredible things to make your house a home. He really does it all!

In his new HGTV show, “Junk or Jackpot?” premiering Friday at 9:30 p.m. Pacific, host Burke often has authentic reactions when visiting Los Angeles collectors. He finds their homes filled with everything from action figures and pinball machines to puppets and more—and sometimes, valuable treasures are hidden in plain sight. In one episode, a collector reveals a trading card valued at around $100,000. “I definitely said something like ‘What the f—?’ but it was probably censored since it’s on HGTV,” Berk explains from his Los Angeles home. “I’m used to having more freedom with my language on Netflix, but this was just unbelievable.”

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Each episode features someone looking to improve their life, and the Fab Five are there to help. Tan France focuses on style, Bobby Berk handles design, Karamo Brown explores culture, Antoni Porowski tackles food and wine, and Jonathan Van Ness provides grooming expertise.

Beyond the surprising finds, the heart of “Junk or Jackpot?” lies in watching Berk compassionately enter people’s homes and guide them through dealing with collections that have become overwhelming, impacting their living space and relationships. As Berk puts it, “I’m a designer, but in this line of work, we often joke that we’re also marriage counselors.”

Born in Houston and growing up in conservative Mount Vernon, Missouri, Berk is skilled at finding problems and working to solve them – a skill he’s applied to his own life as well. For example, feeling unsafe coming out as a teenager in Mount Vernon, he left home at 15 and spent several years moving between cities, never completing high school. He remembers a difficult period, constantly moving from place to place between the ages of 15 and 22, just to make ends meet and navigate life’s challenges.

After arriving in New York City, he gained experience working at retailers like Restoration Hardware, Bed Bath & Beyond, and Portico. In 2006, he launched his first online store, followed by a brick-and-mortar location in Soho in 2007. He quickly began appearing on TV shows on HGTV and Bravo, and in 2018, he joined the cast of “Queer Eye,” which significantly boosted his career. This success culminated in an Emmy Award in 2023 for Outstanding Structured Reality Program. In 2022, he was also awarded an honorary degree from Otis College of Art and Design.

As his new show, “Junk or Jackpot?” prepares to premiere, 44-year-old Berk shared the story of how John Cena personally selected him to host, explained his approach to helping people declutter their lives, and revealed where he and his husband, Dewey Do, along with their dog Bimini, now call home after years of travel and living in different places.

What are the origins of “Junk or Jackpot?” and what does John Cena have to do with it all?

I’d been talking to HGTV on and off for years, even while I was working on “Queer Eye.” However, my contract with Netflix prevented me from doing design shows for other networks. I kept the lines of communication open with them, so when this opportunity came up, Loren Ruch, who was the head of HGTV (and who we’ve sadly lost), contacted me. He told me John Cena had created the show and that I was his first choice to host it. John was a fan of “Queer Eye,” so I immediately said yes. The fact that we filmed here in Los Angeles was also really important to me. L.A. needed more entertainment jobs, and I was glad to be able to bring work to our fantastic local crews.

This isn’t like most design shows. Those shows are great and definitely helpful, but on ‘Queer Eye,’ we always focused on people who truly deserved a little help – someone going through a tough time who needed a lift. ‘Junk or Jackpot?’ is the same way – it’s about helping people who could really use it.

Each person featured on the show had a compelling personal life unfolding alongside their collecting. For example, in the first episode, Patrick and Roger were struggling in their relationship because they simply didn’t have enough room to live comfortably together. Another episode focused on Carly and Johnny, who unexpectedly became parents to a son, J.D., in their early 40s, which dramatically changed their priorities.

I really enjoyed the show because it focused on people dealing with a shift in their passions – when something they once loved starts causing problems. My goal was to help them rediscover the joy their collection originally brought them.

Unlike many home renovation shows, HGTV didn’t provide a large budget for the renovations. Instead, the homeowners had to sell their own collections to fund the work. What led to that unique approach?

I approached it as a kind of therapy, hoping collectors would understand their collections aren’t just valuable objects, but that the impact collecting has on their lives is also important. I wanted them to decide if the changes they wanted to make in their lives were more meaningful than holding onto their collections. For example, with Patrick, Roger held value – meaning the emotional connection to the item was significant.

I encouraged them to practice letting go of possessions. I didn’t ask them to discard their most cherished items, but rather the duplicates or things without strong emotional attachments – things they didn’t receive as gifts or have childhood memories associated with. My goal was to help them become less attached to material things, so they could prioritize what truly matters and find it easier to declutter on their own in the future, even without my help.

Designer Jeff Berk uses fabric swatches and inspiration boards in his workspace. He explains that his show, “Junk or Jackpot?” isn’t like other design programs. (Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times)

When working with collectors, how do you factor in the cost? For example, in one instance, you opted to cover an existing brick wall rather than demolishing it and constructing a new one.

The homeowners are paying for this project, and part of it is about helping them declutter. If we’d simply offered to cover all the costs upfront, they wouldn’t have been motivated to get rid of things. I wanted to show viewers that you don’t need expensive renovations to make a big impact. For example, instead of removing a fireplace you dislike, you can use a more affordable solution like micro cement to completely transform it.

What would you say you learned from shooting the first season of “Junk or Jackpot?”

I didn’t really discover anything I didn’t already know, but it strongly reminded me how much your surroundings and their design can impact your feelings and mental well-being, for better or worse.

When your home becomes overly cluttered with things that no longer bring you happiness, it can negatively impact your mental well-being and strain your relationships. However, simply decluttering and reorganizing a space can significantly improve your mental health and strengthen bonds with yourself, your family, and your friends.

Vivian loves collecting Wonder Woman items, but her collection grew so large that her friends stopped visiting. Her closest friend, who used to travel from Las Vegas for sleepovers, now says there’s simply no room to relax. It just goes to show how much your surroundings can impact your life.

The first season takes place in Los Angeles. If the show continues, would you be interested in filming in other cities or countries?

I really enjoy filming in Los Angeles, as that’s where I live. While working on “Queer Eye” for eight years, we traveled across the country, which was great. However, this show appeals to a specific audience, so it might be difficult to stay in one city for many seasons. Moving to different cities would be fine, but I’d love to film at least one or two more seasons here in L.A. – I’m happy to be home after all that travel.

You’ve lived in a few different places – New York, Los Angeles, and Portugal. So, where do you consider home?

I truly feel at home in Los Angeles, even though I love Portugal. Spending time in Southeast Asia, especially Vietnam where my husband is from, also feels like a second home. I believe in reincarnation, and I have a strong feeling I lived in that part of the world before. Whenever I travel to Vietnam, China, or anywhere in Southeast Asia, I immediately feel a sense of belonging.

Looking back on “Queer Eye,” how did the experience feel for everyone involved? Were you able to appreciate it while it was happening?

It was a mixed experience, really. Traveling was incredible, like a whirlwind, and I generally loved it, though it could be completely draining. I recently checked my flight history using an app called “Flighty,” which tracks everything. Even though I spent five months of 2019 filming and wasn’t traveling then, I still managed 200 flights and over 500,000 miles in just seven months! I definitely don’t miss that hectic pace, but overall, I remember it fondly.

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2025-12-26 14:32