Flipping Out
Encyclopedia
Flipping Out is a reality television
series that debuted on July 31, 2007 on Bravo in the United States
and HGTV
in Canada
. Subsequently, it debuted on cable network Arena in Australia
on September 4, 2009. For the first season it also re-aired on sister network CNBC
. The show is centered on designer Jeff Lewis in Los Angeles
, California
, his entourage that consists of his project manager Jenni, housekeeper Zoila, business manager and boyfriend Gage and his other assistant(s) and helper(s). For the first season the show revolved around Lewis' flip projects as he renovated homes and re-sold them for a profit. As the housing bubble popped in 2007, Lewis started to focus more on his home design consulting business and less on flipping houses, though in season four he considered moving back into flipping small projects on the side. After achieving record ratings for its fourth season, the show was picked up by Bravo for a fifth season as announced on the show's official Facebook page on January 13, 2011. Season 5 premiered Wednesday, July 6, 2011.
Lewis born on March 24, 1970 in Orange County
, California
, and is a 1988 graduate of Mater Dei High School
. He attended both the University of Southern California
and Chapman University
where he was Pre-Law and Political Science major. After graduating from college in 1993, Lewis began working for a real estate agent. In 1999, Lewis began his current occupation as a real-estate speculator and interior decorator. He purchases properties, sometimes for over a million dollars each, and then renovates them to sell for a profit. Jeff is openly gay
, and formerly had a relationship with his ex-business partner Ryan Brown. The New York Times called Jeff "a man balancing multiple mortgages like bricks on a noodle". In 2008, he started "Jeff Lewis Design" and in 2009, launched a line of home furnishings he designed on QVC
.
Lewis speaks openly about his living with obsessive–compulsive personality disorder, and the show often highlights how this is evident in his business dealings. Lewis is shown obsessing over his three dogs and two cats, has several psychic
s and mediums
, including a pet psychic, and performs exorcism
s for his houses. He sees a therapist and does "scream therapy" to release stress. He is a demanding boss who has been accused of unprofessional narcissism
and a tyrannical treatment of his subordinates, counting on his talent to overshadow his personality defects. He admits to being “a great narcissist
”; in fact he likes working in front of a mirror
. He stated that he had filler put in his lips in 1999 and prides himself on having just the “perfect amount of botox”.
Jeff's youngest brother Todd is married to Carrie, Jeff's realtor. According to Jeff, the two knew each other before she became one of his realtors. Carrie's younger sister Sarah was one of Jeff's design assistants beginning in Season 4.
Pulos was born in Portland, Oregon
, and grew up in Scottsdale, Arizona
. She played tennis competitively in high school. She attended the University of California, Los Angeles
as a Theater & Film major and a Political Science minor. Pulos intended to play tennis for UCLA, but later invested her time in acting. Pulos considers herself to be an actress, voice actress, and rapper. She married another one of Lewis' assistants, Chris Elwood, and was referred to as 'Jenni Pulos Elwood' throughout the first two seasons until the two divorced. Pulos has had many minor roles in television, including Monk
, Charmed
, and Moesha
.
Pulos refers to herself as Lewis' executive administrative assistant and often refers to Lewis as "crazy" due to his obsessive-compulsive tendencies, but also admits that many geniuses are crazy. Pulos has complained that Lewis treats his animals better than his assistants. Lewis often gives preferential treatment to Pulos and considers her his best assistant, evidenced by the fact that she has only been suspended once. Lewis says that "she is really the only person that stands up to me," and he apparently respects that. Her husband Chris worked for Lewis before Pulos was hired, but she quickly rose up the ladder. Since the start of the first season, Pulos has maintained that a good portion of her job is to entertain Lewis; some of her first footage on the show is of her dancing foolishly in the driveway to make Lewis laugh.
Lewis and Pulos share a platonic friendship. Pulos refuses to tell Lewis where she lives because she fears he might track her down and invade her privacy, which Lewis admits he would. When Pulos withholds information about her private life, Lewis says worriedly that his "first reaction is that she might break up with me". According to Lewis their relationship has been strengthened.
He was concerned about her welfare during the previous months that recall Lewis' firing of Chris Elwood during episode 205, "Tear Down" and his later discovery that Pulos and Chris were getting a divorce. According to "Closer Inspection," "Tear Down," the season reunion special Lewis believed his undeniable proof of Chris' disregard of his duties would hurt not only Pulos but Lewis' relationship with her. He agonized over what decision he should make.
Ryan grew up in Oxnard, California
and attended school at the University of California, San Diego where he majored in Neuroscience, intending to one day go to medical school. He later changed his plans, moved to Europe, and became a fashion photographer. Upon returning to Los Angeles he entered the interior design business. Besides running an interior design firm, Ryan also engages in full-scale residential development, as well as the restoration and refurbishing of homes in the Los Angeles area.
Ryan and Jeff went into business together while in a relationship, the relationship soon dissolved romantically however the two remained partners in business, continuing flipping and re-designing houses. Ryan is in a long term relationship with his partner chef Dale Monchamp, with whom he has a daughter born through surrogacy. Brown's daughter is often featured on Flipping Out, primarily in season 3 in which Jeff admits to sharing a close bond with her as he has no kids of his own.
At the end of Season 3 of Flipping Out, mounting anger between Jeff and Ryan culminates when Jeff confronts Ryan accusing him of stealing clients as well as showing no regard for his financial situation in the failing economy. Ryan responded by calling Jeff paranoid and that the success of his business was due to his body of work over the years as a designer, not Lewis' name.
By season 4 Ryan was no longer listed as a cast member on Bravo.com. Jeff only addresses the situation briefly in the first episode of season 4, saying he is deeply saddened to have lost someone he considered family, he also states the two no longer speak.
Chris was born in Columbus
, Georgia
, and afer graduating from high school moved to Atlanta, where he began acting. To further pursue acting, he later moved to Los Angeles
, where he met Jenni Pulos. Chris is mostly recognized as one of the wingmen
on Ashton Kutcher
's MTV
show Punk'd
and How High
, in which he played Bart Dooster. Chris commented on the series that while most people expect him not to be doing the kind of work he's doing for Jeff, he needs some extra income to supplement his acting career.
In Season 1, Chris is effectively referred to as the "Trash Guy" or the "third house assistant". It is his job to clean up the job sites. In Season 2, Chris is the "House Manager", meaning he sees to it that Jeff's residence is in working order. Every day, he is given a long list of tasks, which he and the "second house assistant" must complete. Throughout both seasons, Chris's standing responsibility is to take care of the animals and to maintain security around the house.
As both Chris and Jenni are in the acting business, they often push aside their duties in favor of acting opportunities, which subsequently gets Jeff upset. Jeff has fired Chris multiple times, but has always re-hired him.
Near the end of Season 2, Jeff officially fires Chris, after installing video cameras in his residence that catch Chris not doing his job, as well as using Jeff's computer and office area for personal needs without permission. Shortly after his firing, Jenni and Chris divorced. Jenni cited the tape as a factor in their break-up.
In the season 5 reunion, Jeff mentioned that Chris was recently remarried.
Keslar joined the cast during the second season to replace Steve Bowman, who had an antagonistic relationship with Lewis. He is the brother of Project Runway 3s Angela Keslar and a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania
. Keslar stated in the first episode that he wanted to break into the design and real estate markets, and that he viewed working for Lewis as a type of apprenticeship. However, Keslar often found himself the butt of Lewis' sense of humor. He was once instructed to take a Los Angeles public bus home after taking Lewis' car to the autobody shop. On another occasion, after forgetting to ask a takeout restaurant for guacamole for Lewis' lunch, Keslar was instructed to climb over a fence and steal avocados from a neighbor's trees so that maid Zoila could make guacamole as a replacement. During a three-month review, Lewis' employees stated that Keslar was dedicated, proactive and a hard worker. Lewis himself stated that Keslar had a nice personality, which was often the kiss of death when working for him. Keslar resigned in the last episode, in part because of the poor treatment he received and in part because there was no hope of job growth. At the meeting wherein Keslar resigned, Lewis responded that in order to work for him, a person needs to be dysfunctional. He told Keslar that he thought Keslar was just "too healthy" to work for him.
Jett joined the cast in the second season finale. He was the first person interviewed to replace Keslar and was hired almost immediately after being asked a series of peculiar questions by Pulos and Lewis. Pink was asked whether or not he uses the bathroom frequently, and whether or not he can admit he is wrong, even if he knows he is right. Lewis says he hired Jett because he was the first good-looking person to walk in the door and the only one who had no real interest in the business. Lewis said he realized it wasn't fair to hire people in that position interested in advancement to a design role (as Keslar was), because the position only requires animal caretaking, household chores and errand-running for Lewis. He decided after Keslar that he would only hire people in that position who did not have other aspirations.
Pink almost never is shown exhibiting emotion of any kind. He never disagrees with Lewis on the show. In a rare moment on the show, he once joked with Jeff at lunch. Their remarks upset Zoila, who left the table to cry in her room. Jett came to her room and apologized profusely. He has asked Zoila to take walks with him while he walks the dogs, but Zoila said she prefers to watch soap operas instead.
In Season 4, Pink cut off his ponytail and now has a short haircut. He is also a new father, and his infant son is sometimes at the Lewis house while Pink is working. Lewis has added maintenance at different properties to Pink's responsibilities to justify his salary.
Zoila was born in Nicaragua and lived the early duration of her life there. She married and raised two daughters. In 1987, when her daughters had grown up, Zoila divorced her husband and moved to the United States. She began cleaning Lewis' home, then was persuaded to become a live-in housekeeper. Zoila became a citizen of the United States in 1996 and lives here with several of her brothers and sisters.
In addition to Jenni, Zoila is Lewis' favorite employee and serves as a surrogate mother to Lewis. Zoila has shown patience with Lewis' eccentricities and became more firm with Lewis once she gained her citizenship. As of 2009 she is attending school, which Lewis sometimes fears inhibits his ability to control her.
Zoila is extremely patient with Jeff, often asking for time off but never getting it. Even for her birthday, she was denied the weekend off. Lewis' infamous reaction, which was played several times on various media shows including The Soup
was, "Didn't you just get off for Christmas
? Now you want another holiday off?" and, in a talking head, "She wanted all of Saturday and she wanted all of Friday. Well, what am I going to do? Who's going to do my laundry? Who's going to make me breakfast? She's so selfish." Rather than the weekend off as she preferred and postponing her birthday for another weekend as Lewis preferred, she is given an oil painting of herself which is decidedly unflattering. The painting later went up for auction on Bravotv.com, and was sold for over $10,000, she received the proceeds from the sale. He has been generous in subsequent birthdays, taking her to New York for her birthday one season and giving her the plastic surgery of her choice in the next.
Trace was brought on as a design intern in season 3. Upon graduation in season 4 he became a full-time employee at JLD. Jeff fired him in season 5 because he discovered Trace using time at work to design a personal closet for his residence, a task which Jeff indicated requires three hours to complete.
Sarah is Jeff's sister-in-law's sister and joined the cast in season 3. She was born and raised in the San Francisco bay area and moved to LA when she was 18. She is shown as being very personable and a client favorite but being very forgetful. After much consideration as to what this may do to Jeff's brother and his wife's family he fired her in the fifth season due to her constant mistakes.
Gage joined the cast in season 5 and is Jeff's business manager and boyfriend. Gage is 14 years younger than Jeff.
, visits with pet psychic
s, and one of Lewis' assistants is always there to attend to their needs.
w/Guest House
5,000 sq ft
The Nottingham property was purchased for $2,290,000. It was the first project on Flipping Out, and is the largest house that Lewis has flipped. Brown had lived in the house after he won a bet with Lewis that was featured in the series. The property sold for $4,500,000.
and after being renovated by Lewis it was initially listed at $3,195,000 and then reduced twice until it sold for $2,595,000.
In the same episode, Jenni said Jeff's move was great for Jeff, since he wanted to slow down a little bit.
In Season 3 during the remodel of one of the bungalows, a homeless person named Spirit who had lived in the backyard of the property with Dean's permission for 10 years passed away. Lewis had planned to construct an area with a shower and rest room for Spirit's use in one of the bungalows, but due to Spirit's death it was never started. It was mentioned that Dean referred to Spirit as female even it though it was believed she was a male, so that people would be sympathetic to her.
Duplex
1,756 sq ft
Purchase Price: 625,000
Est.Selling Price: $999,000
Sold for $990,000
-nature including Ellen DeGeneres
and Rosie O'Donnell
.
Reality television
Reality television is a genre of television programming that presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and usually features ordinary people instead of professional actors, sometimes in a contest or other situation where a prize is awarded...
series that debuted on July 31, 2007 on Bravo in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and HGTV
HGTV
HGTV , is a cable-television network operating in the United States and Canada, broadcasting a variety of home and garden improvement, maintenance, renovation, craft and remodeling shows...
in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. Subsequently, it debuted on cable network Arena in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
on September 4, 2009. For the first season it also re-aired on sister network CNBC
CNBC
CNBC is a satellite and cable television business news channel in the U.S., owned and operated by NBCUniversal. The network and its international spinoffs cover business headlines and provide live coverage of financial markets. The combined reach of CNBC and its siblings is 390 million viewers...
. The show is centered on designer Jeff Lewis in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, his entourage that consists of his project manager Jenni, housekeeper Zoila, business manager and boyfriend Gage and his other assistant(s) and helper(s). For the first season the show revolved around Lewis' flip projects as he renovated homes and re-sold them for a profit. As the housing bubble popped in 2007, Lewis started to focus more on his home design consulting business and less on flipping houses, though in season four he considered moving back into flipping small projects on the side. After achieving record ratings for its fourth season, the show was picked up by Bravo for a fifth season as announced on the show's official Facebook page on January 13, 2011. Season 5 premiered Wednesday, July 6, 2011.
Jeff Lewis
(Season 1—)Lewis born on March 24, 1970 in Orange County
Orange County, California
Orange County is a county in the U.S. state of California. Its county seat is Santa Ana. As of the 2010 census, its population was 3,010,232, up from 2,846,293 at the 2000 census, making it the third most populous county in California, behind Los Angeles County and San Diego County...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, and is a 1988 graduate of Mater Dei High School
Mater Dei High School (Santa Ana, California)
Mater Dei High School is a private, Catholic, co-educational secondary school in Santa Ana, California. It is located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange. With an enrollment of 2,100 students Mater Dei High School is one of the largest Catholic high schools in the United States...
. He attended both the University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
and Chapman University
Chapman University
Chapman University is a private, non-profit university located in Orange, California affiliated with the Christian Church . Known for its blend of liberal arts and professional programs, Chapman University encompasses seven schools and colleges: Lawrence and Kristina Dodge College of Film and Media...
where he was Pre-Law and Political Science major. After graduating from college in 1993, Lewis began working for a real estate agent. In 1999, Lewis began his current occupation as a real-estate speculator and interior decorator. He purchases properties, sometimes for over a million dollars each, and then renovates them to sell for a profit. Jeff is openly gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
, and formerly had a relationship with his ex-business partner Ryan Brown. The New York Times called Jeff "a man balancing multiple mortgages like bricks on a noodle". In 2008, he started "Jeff Lewis Design" and in 2009, launched a line of home furnishings he designed on QVC
QVC
QVC is a multinational corporation specializing in televised home shopping. Founded in 1986 by Joseph Segel in West Goshen Township, Pennsylvania, United States, QVC broadcasts in five countries as QVC US, QVC UK, QVC Germany, QVC Japan and – QVC Italy to 200 million households...
.
Lewis speaks openly about his living with obsessive–compulsive personality disorder, and the show often highlights how this is evident in his business dealings. Lewis is shown obsessing over his three dogs and two cats, has several psychic
Psychic
A psychic is a person who professes an ability to perceive information hidden from the normal senses through extrasensory perception , or is said by others to have such abilities. It is also used to describe theatrical performers who use techniques such as prestidigitation, cold reading, and hot...
s and mediums
Mediumship
Mediumship is described as a form of communication with spirits. It is a practice in religious beliefs such as Spiritualism, Spiritism, Espiritismo, Candomblé, Voodoo and Umbanda.- Concept :...
, including a pet psychic, and performs exorcism
Exorcism
Exorcism is the religious practice of evicting demons or other spiritual entities from a person or place which they are believed to have possessed...
s for his houses. He sees a therapist and does "scream therapy" to release stress. He is a demanding boss who has been accused of unprofessional narcissism
Narcissism
Narcissism is a term with a wide range of meanings, depending on whether it is used to describe a central concept of psychoanalytic theory, a mental illness, a social or cultural problem, or simply a personality trait...
and a tyrannical treatment of his subordinates, counting on his talent to overshadow his personality defects. He admits to being “a great narcissist
Narcissism
Narcissism is a term with a wide range of meanings, depending on whether it is used to describe a central concept of psychoanalytic theory, a mental illness, a social or cultural problem, or simply a personality trait...
”; in fact he likes working in front of a mirror
Mirror
A mirror is an object that reflects light or sound in a way that preserves much of its original quality prior to its contact with the mirror. Some mirrors also filter out some wavelengths, while preserving other wavelengths in the reflection...
. He stated that he had filler put in his lips in 1999 and prides himself on having just the “perfect amount of botox”.
Jeff's youngest brother Todd is married to Carrie, Jeff's realtor. According to Jeff, the two knew each other before she became one of his realtors. Carrie's younger sister Sarah was one of Jeff's design assistants beginning in Season 4.
Jenni Pulos
(Season 1—)Pulos was born in Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, and grew up in Scottsdale, Arizona
Scottsdale, Arizona
Scottsdale is a city in the eastern part of Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, adjacent to Phoenix. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, as of 2010 the population of the city was 217,385...
. She played tennis competitively in high school. She attended the University of California, Los Angeles
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
as a Theater & Film major and a Political Science minor. Pulos intended to play tennis for UCLA, but later invested her time in acting. Pulos considers herself to be an actress, voice actress, and rapper. She married another one of Lewis' assistants, Chris Elwood, and was referred to as 'Jenni Pulos Elwood' throughout the first two seasons until the two divorced. Pulos has had many minor roles in television, including Monk
Monk (TV series)
Monk is an American comedy-drama detective mystery television series created by Andy Breckman and starring Tony Shalhoub as the titular character, Adrian Monk. It originally ran from 2002 to 2009 and is primarily a mystery series, although it has dark and comic touches.The series debuted on July...
, Charmed
Charmed
Charmed is an American television series that originally aired from October 7, 1998, until May 21, 2006, on the now defunct The WB Television Network. The series was created in 1998 by writer Constance M...
, and Moesha
Moesha
Moesha is an American sitcom series that aired on the UPN network from January 23, 1996 to May 14, 2001. The series stars R&B singer Brandy Norwood as Moesha Mitchell, a high school student living with her family in the Leimert Park neighborhood of South Central Los Angeles.-Overview:The show...
.
Pulos refers to herself as Lewis' executive administrative assistant and often refers to Lewis as "crazy" due to his obsessive-compulsive tendencies, but also admits that many geniuses are crazy. Pulos has complained that Lewis treats his animals better than his assistants. Lewis often gives preferential treatment to Pulos and considers her his best assistant, evidenced by the fact that she has only been suspended once. Lewis says that "she is really the only person that stands up to me," and he apparently respects that. Her husband Chris worked for Lewis before Pulos was hired, but she quickly rose up the ladder. Since the start of the first season, Pulos has maintained that a good portion of her job is to entertain Lewis; some of her first footage on the show is of her dancing foolishly in the driveway to make Lewis laugh.
Lewis and Pulos share a platonic friendship. Pulos refuses to tell Lewis where she lives because she fears he might track her down and invade her privacy, which Lewis admits he would. When Pulos withholds information about her private life, Lewis says worriedly that his "first reaction is that she might break up with me". According to Lewis their relationship has been strengthened.
He was concerned about her welfare during the previous months that recall Lewis' firing of Chris Elwood during episode 205, "Tear Down" and his later discovery that Pulos and Chris were getting a divorce. According to "Closer Inspection," "Tear Down," the season reunion special Lewis believed his undeniable proof of Chris' disregard of his duties would hurt not only Pulos but Lewis' relationship with her. He agonized over what decision he should make.
Ryan Brown
(Seasons 1—3)Ryan grew up in Oxnard, California
Oxnard, California
Oxnard is the 113th largest city in the United States, 19th largest city in California and largest city in Ventura County, California, by way of population. It is located at the western edge of the fertile Oxnard Plain, and is an important agricultural center, with its distinction as the...
and attended school at the University of California, San Diego where he majored in Neuroscience, intending to one day go to medical school. He later changed his plans, moved to Europe, and became a fashion photographer. Upon returning to Los Angeles he entered the interior design business. Besides running an interior design firm, Ryan also engages in full-scale residential development, as well as the restoration and refurbishing of homes in the Los Angeles area.
Ryan and Jeff went into business together while in a relationship, the relationship soon dissolved romantically however the two remained partners in business, continuing flipping and re-designing houses. Ryan is in a long term relationship with his partner chef Dale Monchamp, with whom he has a daughter born through surrogacy. Brown's daughter is often featured on Flipping Out, primarily in season 3 in which Jeff admits to sharing a close bond with her as he has no kids of his own.
At the end of Season 3 of Flipping Out, mounting anger between Jeff and Ryan culminates when Jeff confronts Ryan accusing him of stealing clients as well as showing no regard for his financial situation in the failing economy. Ryan responded by calling Jeff paranoid and that the success of his business was due to his body of work over the years as a designer, not Lewis' name.
By season 4 Ryan was no longer listed as a cast member on Bravo.com. Jeff only addresses the situation briefly in the first episode of season 4, saying he is deeply saddened to have lost someone he considered family, he also states the two no longer speak.
Chris Elwood
(Seasons 1—2)Chris was born in Columbus
Columbus, Georgia
Columbus is a city in and the county seat of Muscogee County, Georgia, United States, with which it is consolidated. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 189,885. It is the principal city of the Columbus, Georgia metropolitan area, which, in 2009, had an estimated population of 292,795...
, Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
, and afer graduating from high school moved to Atlanta, where he began acting. To further pursue acting, he later moved to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, where he met Jenni Pulos. Chris is mostly recognized as one of the wingmen
Wingman
A wingman is a pilot who supports another in a potentially dangerous flying environment. Wingman was originally a term referring to the plane flying beside and slightly behind the lead plane in an aircraft formation....
on Ashton Kutcher
Ashton Kutcher
Christopher Ashton Kutcher , best known as Ashton Kutcher, is an American actor, producer, former fashion model and comedian, best known for his portrayal of Michael Kelso in the Fox sitcom That '70s Show...
's MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
show Punk'd
Punk'd
Punk'd is an American hidden camera/practical joke reality television series that first aired on MTV in 2003 and was created by Ashton Kutcher and Jason Goldberg, produced and hosted by Ashton Kutcher. It bore a resemblance to both the classic hidden camera show Candid Camera and to TV's Bloopers...
and How High
How High
How High is a 2001 stoner comedy starring Method Man and Redman, written by Dustin Lee Abraham, and director Jesse Dylan's debut feature film. Entertainment Weekly rated it third in their "Best Stoner Movie" top ten list...
, in which he played Bart Dooster. Chris commented on the series that while most people expect him not to be doing the kind of work he's doing for Jeff, he needs some extra income to supplement his acting career.
In Season 1, Chris is effectively referred to as the "Trash Guy" or the "third house assistant". It is his job to clean up the job sites. In Season 2, Chris is the "House Manager", meaning he sees to it that Jeff's residence is in working order. Every day, he is given a long list of tasks, which he and the "second house assistant" must complete. Throughout both seasons, Chris's standing responsibility is to take care of the animals and to maintain security around the house.
As both Chris and Jenni are in the acting business, they often push aside their duties in favor of acting opportunities, which subsequently gets Jeff upset. Jeff has fired Chris multiple times, but has always re-hired him.
Near the end of Season 2, Jeff officially fires Chris, after installing video cameras in his residence that catch Chris not doing his job, as well as using Jeff's computer and office area for personal needs without permission. Shortly after his firing, Jenni and Chris divorced. Jenni cited the tape as a factor in their break-up.
In the season 5 reunion, Jeff mentioned that Chris was recently remarried.
Chris Keslar
(Season 2)Keslar joined the cast during the second season to replace Steve Bowman, who had an antagonistic relationship with Lewis. He is the brother of Project Runway 3s Angela Keslar and a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
. Keslar stated in the first episode that he wanted to break into the design and real estate markets, and that he viewed working for Lewis as a type of apprenticeship. However, Keslar often found himself the butt of Lewis' sense of humor. He was once instructed to take a Los Angeles public bus home after taking Lewis' car to the autobody shop. On another occasion, after forgetting to ask a takeout restaurant for guacamole for Lewis' lunch, Keslar was instructed to climb over a fence and steal avocados from a neighbor's trees so that maid Zoila could make guacamole as a replacement. During a three-month review, Lewis' employees stated that Keslar was dedicated, proactive and a hard worker. Lewis himself stated that Keslar had a nice personality, which was often the kiss of death when working for him. Keslar resigned in the last episode, in part because of the poor treatment he received and in part because there was no hope of job growth. At the meeting wherein Keslar resigned, Lewis responded that in order to work for him, a person needs to be dysfunctional. He told Keslar that he thought Keslar was just "too healthy" to work for him.
Jett Pink
(Season 2—)Jett joined the cast in the second season finale. He was the first person interviewed to replace Keslar and was hired almost immediately after being asked a series of peculiar questions by Pulos and Lewis. Pink was asked whether or not he uses the bathroom frequently, and whether or not he can admit he is wrong, even if he knows he is right. Lewis says he hired Jett because he was the first good-looking person to walk in the door and the only one who had no real interest in the business. Lewis said he realized it wasn't fair to hire people in that position interested in advancement to a design role (as Keslar was), because the position only requires animal caretaking, household chores and errand-running for Lewis. He decided after Keslar that he would only hire people in that position who did not have other aspirations.
Pink almost never is shown exhibiting emotion of any kind. He never disagrees with Lewis on the show. In a rare moment on the show, he once joked with Jeff at lunch. Their remarks upset Zoila, who left the table to cry in her room. Jett came to her room and apologized profusely. He has asked Zoila to take walks with him while he walks the dogs, but Zoila said she prefers to watch soap operas instead.
In Season 4, Pink cut off his ponytail and now has a short haircut. He is also a new father, and his infant son is sometimes at the Lewis house while Pink is working. Lewis has added maintenance at different properties to Pink's responsibilities to justify his salary.
Zoila Chavez
(Season 1—)Zoila was born in Nicaragua and lived the early duration of her life there. She married and raised two daughters. In 1987, when her daughters had grown up, Zoila divorced her husband and moved to the United States. She began cleaning Lewis' home, then was persuaded to become a live-in housekeeper. Zoila became a citizen of the United States in 1996 and lives here with several of her brothers and sisters.
In addition to Jenni, Zoila is Lewis' favorite employee and serves as a surrogate mother to Lewis. Zoila has shown patience with Lewis' eccentricities and became more firm with Lewis once she gained her citizenship. As of 2009 she is attending school, which Lewis sometimes fears inhibits his ability to control her.
Zoila is extremely patient with Jeff, often asking for time off but never getting it. Even for her birthday, she was denied the weekend off. Lewis' infamous reaction, which was played several times on various media shows including The Soup
The Soup
The Soup is an E! Entertainment Television weekly series; it is a revamped version of Talk Soup that focuses on recaps of various pop culture and television show moments of the week...
was, "Didn't you just get off for Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
? Now you want another holiday off?" and, in a talking head, "She wanted all of Saturday and she wanted all of Friday. Well, what am I going to do? Who's going to do my laundry? Who's going to make me breakfast? She's so selfish." Rather than the weekend off as she preferred and postponing her birthday for another weekend as Lewis preferred, she is given an oil painting of herself which is decidedly unflattering. The painting later went up for auction on Bravotv.com, and was sold for over $10,000, she received the proceeds from the sale. He has been generous in subsequent birthdays, taking her to New York for her birthday one season and giving her the plastic surgery of her choice in the next.
Trace James Lehnhoff
(Seasons 3—5)Trace was brought on as a design intern in season 3. Upon graduation in season 4 he became a full-time employee at JLD. Jeff fired him in season 5 because he discovered Trace using time at work to design a personal closet for his residence, a task which Jeff indicated requires three hours to complete.
Sarah Berkman
(Seasons 3—5)Sarah is Jeff's sister-in-law's sister and joined the cast in season 3. She was born and raised in the San Francisco bay area and moved to LA when she was 18. She is shown as being very personable and a client favorite but being very forgetful. After much consideration as to what this may do to Jeff's brother and his wife's family he fired her in the fifth season due to her constant mistakes.
Gage Edward
(Season 5—)Gage joined the cast in season 5 and is Jeff's business manager and boyfriend. Gage is 14 years younger than Jeff.
The pets
According to seasons one and two Lewis has five pets-three dogs and two cats- that frequently make appearances on the show. The pets are treated quite well contrasted to the employees on the show. For instance, the animals are seen getting therapy, acupunctureAcupuncture
Acupuncture is a type of alternative medicine that treats patients by insertion and manipulation of solid, generally thin needles in the body....
, visits with pet psychic
Pet psychic
A pet psychic, animal communicator, or pet whisperer is a person who claims to be able to communicate psychically with animals. Some pet psychics claim to be able to communicate with long-dead animals, while others are more like animal communicators or animal psychologists...
s, and one of Lewis' assistants is always there to attend to their needs.
- Monkey - Lewis' first pet, a cat, and seven and a half years old. He was a gift from Ryan while he and Jeff were dating. He is a rare Blue Point Peke-faced HimalayanHimalayan (cat)The Himalayan cat is a breed of long-haired cat identical in type to the Persian, with the exception of its blue eyes and its point coloration, which were derived from the crossing of the Persian with the Siamese...
. Jeff describes him as a mischievous prankster and has the best sense of humor of all the pets. Jeff's pet psychic says he's very imaginative and creative, and as a result, holds the delusion that he is an outside cat. Monkey is very valuable so Jeff won't let him outside for fear of petnappers. Monkey is very sickly so Jeff treats him to a variety of expensive medical attention, including holistic doctors; at least fifteen to twenty thousand dollars has been spent on Monkey's physical ailments. The kitchen sink is left constantly running in a slight stream so Monkey may drink from it.
- Stewie - Lewis' second pet, a cat, and six-years-old. He is Seal Point Peke-faced HimalayanHimalayan (cat)The Himalayan cat is a breed of long-haired cat identical in type to the Persian, with the exception of its blue eyes and its point coloration, which were derived from the crossing of the Persian with the Siamese...
and the exact opposite personality of Monkey. Lewis says that he is the least friendly of all the pets and is very selective with his affection. The cat will only let Lewis touch him; assistant Steve Bowman was often forced to use a broom to push the antagonistic cat from one room to the other. Lewis compares him to GarfieldGarfield (character)Garfield is a fictional character and the title protagonist from the comic strip Garfield created by Jim Davis.-Personality:Garfield is an anthropomorphic ginger cat. He loves eating , and sleeping. He is teased about being overweight. He is also selfish...
because he is lazy, and only eats and sleeps all day rather than playing like the other animals. Stewie often defecates in the sink or bathtub, and Jeff has asked his staff to keep the sinks and tubs at Valley Oak filled with water to try to prevent this behavior.
- Casey - Lewis' third pet and first dog, is a pit bullPit bullA Pit bull is any of several breeds of dog in the molosser breed group.Many jurisdictions that restrict pit bulls, including Ontario, Canada,, Miami, Florida, U.S...
mix. Casey is not as well house-trained as Oliver and often has accidents in the house, which the delegated pet assistant, formerly Chris Elwood, sometimes fails to notice. Lewis said he found her in a pet adoptionPet adoptionPet adoption usually refers to the process of taking guardianship of and responsibility for a pet that a previous owner has abandoned or released to a shelter or rescue organization...
place while driving around and when he came back to see her at the end of the day, all the pets had been adopted but her; Lewis feels that there is a definite reason why but cannot decide if the adoption was fate or a mistake. Jeff says that Casey is spoiled and slow to learn; it took three years and seven thousand dollars for her to learn to sit.
- Oliver - The fourth pet and second dog in the Lewis household. He is a stray dog of unknown breeding, possibly a CorgiWelsh CorgiThe Welsh corgi is a small type of herding dog that originated in Wales. Two distinct breeds are recognized: the Pembroke Welsh corgi and the Cardigan Welsh corgi, with the Pembroke being the more common..-Description:...
mix, which Lewis found at the dog parkDog parkA dog park is a facility set aside for dogs to exercise and play off-leash in a controlled environment under the supervision of their owners...
and took in. Jeff's pet psychic says that Oliver's previous owner loved him very much but had to let him go to give him a better life. Jeff says that Oliver is the most affectionate pet and was already perfectly house-trained when adopted; according to Lewis, he is also apparently best friends with Casey.
- "Little" Chris - Chris is the newest pet and the third dog, and was adopted after the first season. He was named after Chris Elwood. He is not house trained, and often comes in conflict with the other dogs, particularly Casey.
Ben Lomond
Lewis purchased the 3 bedroom, 3 bath, 2000 square feet (185.8 m²) Ben Lomond property in Los Feliz for $975,000. The Ben Lomond property eventually sold for $1,400,000 after Lewis had lowered the price drastically after failing to sell the property for months. Lewis moved in to Ben Lomond at the end of the first season of the series and lived there between the first and second seasons.Commonwealth
The Commonwealth property is a three-bedroom, two-bathroom house located in Los Angeles. Lewis originally paid $863,000 for the 1938 square feet (180 m²) house. The house was featured during the end of the first season. Lewis bought the house after other real estate speculators had failed to improve the property after finding serious structural deficiencies. Lewis lived in this house during the taping of the second season of the series. The house was eventually sold for $1,595,000.Hancock Park (Lorraine)
The Lorraine property is otherwise known as the Dorothy Chandler Mansion or where the late philanthropist lived out the last few years of her life before she died. The house was also once known as the "Western White House". As Lewis states in the second season opener, he had worked on this project as a consultant, earning himself and Brown a salary of $25,000 a month to supervise the remodeling of the mansion. The mansion was purchased by Joe and Courtney Handleman for $8,070,000. Lewis quit Lorraine after a disagreement about hiring contractors in the second episode of the second season.Encino
After Lewis quit the Hancock Park job, he was brought on as a consultant to remodel a home in Encino.Nottingham
6 Bed/7 Bathw/Guest House
5,000 sq ft
The Nottingham property was purchased for $2,290,000. It was the first project on Flipping Out, and is the largest house that Lewis has flipped. Brown had lived in the house after he won a bet with Lewis that was featured in the series. The property sold for $4,500,000.
Valley Oak One
The Valley Oak One property was initially featured as the first property that Lewis lived in during the series. The house was purchased for $1,400,000and after being renovated by Lewis it was initially listed at $3,195,000 and then reduced twice until it sold for $2,595,000.
Valley Oak Two
The Valley Oak Two property was featured in Season 2 of the series as the second property that Lewis "flipped" on Valley Oak Drive in Los Feliz. Lewis purchased the house for $1,710,000 in March 2007. Valley Oak Two was notable on the series, because the owner that Lewis had purchased it from had refused to vacate the premises after the transaction took place. Lewis began demolition even while the former owner was still living there. After completing the renovation, the property was put on the market at $3,195,000, reduced to $2,995,000 and then eventually taken off the market. Lewis lives at Valley Oak Two in Seasons 3 and 4. He sold Valley Oak Two for $2,325,000 on October 12, 2010.Citrus
According to the episode, "Looks Like New," Jeff has a fifty percent stake in the house, which has five rental units.Edgemont
This property was purchased by Jeff on the Season 2 finale for $1 million. He joked during the inspection that Zoila would be sleeping in the basement, where the gas valves are located. It was listed at $1,395,000 and sold in early January 2009 for $1,300,000.Malibu
Jeff decided at the conclusion of the Season Two finale that he would become a renter, something he always said was "against his religion," for at least four to eight weeks. This gave him stability as well as what he called a vacation. During his interview with the landlord, Lewis lied and stated he had no pets.In the same episode, Jenni said Jeff's move was great for Jeff, since he wanted to slow down a little bit.
Stradella
Jackie, the client, hired Lewis to remodel this 1960-70's era Spanish house in Bel Air, California in Season 3. The budget was $100,000. After many problems with Jackie not paying on time, Lewis paid the contractors out of his own pocket until she could come up with the money. Jackie and Lewis exchanged heated words over payment, and at times Lewis was uncertain she had the money she claimed. The remodel was eventually completed, and Jeff and his workers were finally compensated.Cole
This is an ongoing $750,000 remodel for Chaz Dean's salon in Season 3. The project consists of three separate bungalows. Lewis said he hopes if these are completed to Dean's satisfaction, he will additionally be awarded the contract to build a new salon for Dean in New York City, and Lewis expressed concern that the bungalow project was taking longer than it should.In Season 3 during the remodel of one of the bungalows, a homeless person named Spirit who had lived in the backyard of the property with Dean's permission for 10 years passed away. Lewis had planned to construct an area with a shower and rest room for Spirit's use in one of the bungalows, but due to Spirit's death it was never started. It was mentioned that Dean referred to Spirit as female even it though it was believed she was a male, so that people would be sympathetic to her.
Las Palmas
2 Bed/2 BathDuplex
1,756 sq ft
Purchase Price: 625,000
Est.Selling Price: $999,000
Sold for $990,000
Series overview
| Season | Episodes | Season Premiere | Season Finale |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | July 31, 2007 | September 11, 2007 |
| 2 | 9 | June 17, 2008 | August 12, 2008 |
| 3 | 11 | August 18, 2009 | October 27, 2009 |
| 4 | 10 | August 10, 2010 | October 12, 2010 |
| 5 | 11 | July 6, 2011 | September 13, 2011 |
Reactions to the series
The series premiered to critical acclaim on the network. A few celebrities support Lewis' OCDObsessive-compulsive disorder
Obsessive–compulsive disorder is an anxiety disorder characterized by intrusive thoughts that produce uneasiness, apprehension, fear, or worry, by repetitive behaviors aimed at reducing the associated anxiety, or by a combination of such obsessions and compulsions...
-nature including Ellen DeGeneres
Ellen DeGeneres
Ellen Lee DeGeneres is an American stand-up comedienne, television host and actress. She hosts the syndicated talk show The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and was also a judge on American Idol for one year, having joined the show in its ninth season....
and Rosie O'Donnell
Rosie O'Donnell
Roseann "Rosie" O'Donnell is an American stand-up comedian, actress, author and television personality. She has also been a magazine editor and continues to be a celebrity blogger, LGBT rights activist, television producer and collaborative partner in the LGBT family vacation company R Family...
.