Former ‘N Sync member Lance Bass had to say Bye, Bye, Bye to his dream of buying one of the world’s most iconic houses when HGTV outbid him for the Studio City, California, house featured in the sitcom The Brady Bunch. Bass announced on Twitter recently that he had the winning bid, only to be informed shortly after by the agent representing the estate that another corporate buyer wanted the house “at any cost.”
David Zaslav, the CEO of Discovery, Inc., which recently bought out HGTV, announced the news on a company earnings call.
“One of our projects for HGTV will speak to those Brady Bunch fans on the call,” Zaslav said. “You may have heard that the house from the iconic series was recently on the market in California. I’m excited to share that HGTV is the winning bidder and will restore the Brady Bunch home to its 1970s glory as only HGTV can. More detail to come over the next few months, but we’ll bring all the resources to bear to tell safe, fun stories about this beloved piece of American TV history.”
So far, the purchase price hasn’t been disclosed but the 2,500-square-foot home had been listed at $1.85 million, despite coming under threats of demolition just a few years ago. The home, which sits on a 12,500-square-foot lot, previously sold in 1973 for $61,000, a year before the popular television series wrapped.
Bass has been extremely good-natured about the rebuff, jousting with HGTV on Twitter and will reportedly meet with the television program producers to potentially be a part of the restoration program.
“HGTV??!” he wrote. “Aw man. I’d be pretty upset if it were anyone else, but how can you be mad at HGTV?? My television is stuck on that channel. Kudos HGTV, I know you will do the right thing with the house. That was always my biggest worry. I can smile again.”
To its credit, HGTV sent the love right back.
“Aww, thanks @LanceBass,” the company wrote. “Consider yourself officially part of the HGTV bunch! Yours truly, HGTV (aka The Lance Bass Fan Club).
While the enormous home’s façade is iconic, the television show itself was filmed in a studio, so the interior of the house remains unrecognizable to fans of the show. Nevertheless, in a Zillow listing, the agents for the house called it, “a perfect postcard of American ’70s style and its special culture.“
The residence is reportedly the second most photographed home in the United States behind the White House and ranks with other iconic television homes like the Full House home in San Francisco and the Mork & Mindy house in Boulder, Colorado.
