TV hunt for homes in Kelowna returns |  entertainment

It might be a funky little entry-level condominium downtown.

Or a mountainside home with a stunning pool and view of Okanagan Lake.

Or, the ultimate multimillion-dollar mansion right on Okanagan Lake.

All kinds of Kelowna properties will be spotlighted in four installations of the upcoming 13-episode third season of the house-hunters TV show Realty Reality.

The format of home buyers being toured around three properties with a local real estate agent so they can pick one was made famous by HGTV’s Home Hunters series.

The franchise is so popular that it’s been spun off numerous times with titles like House Hunters International, Island Hunters, House Hunters Million Dollar Home, Tiny House Hunters and House Hunters: Off the Grid.

The first two seasons of Realty Reality featuring Kelowna and local Royal LePage real estate agent Petrina Koltun, as well as real estate agents and properties in Victoria and Vancouver, were produced by Victoria-based Cedarwood Productions. They aired on CHEK-TV in Victoria.

For the third season, Cedarwood has teamed up with Kelowna-based Visland Media as co-producer and distributor

Visland has big plans for Realty Reality.

Besides CHEK in Victoria, it’s in negotiations with another, unnamed Canadian broadcaster to air Season 3.

Visland is also shopping the series around internationally and hopes to snag a deal for it to air in other countries.

“Getting involved was a no-brainer for us,” said Visland CEO Alex Miller. “It’s a fantastic show. We jumped at the chance to work directly with Cedarwood on the newest episodes.”

The four episodes in Kelowna featuring Koltun will start shooting in September, but they won’t air until September 2017.

“I’m so excited to be back for Season 3,” said Koltun. “I had an unbelievable amount of fun working on the first two seasons and can’t wait for production to start.”

Cedarwood executive producer Karen Davies is happy to have Koltun back.

“There is a reason Petrina is the first host we announced for the upcoming season,” she said. “She has so much personality and the viewers absolutely adore her. She was the obvious choice.”

Some episodes for Season 3 will be shot in Calgary to help expand the viewer, distribution and advertiser base to Alberta.

Cedarwood also produces the Flavors of the West Coast foodie show, which airs on CHEK.

Visland produced the travel series Buskers, about street entertainers around the world. It’s finalizing a distribution deal for it to air internationally.