It’s the ultimate renovation and design showdown between veterans and rookies for Season 6 of Rock the Block. HGTV’s highest-rated competition series returns April 14 as host Ty Pennington welcomes four duos pulled from the network’s universe of stars to Grantsville, a growing small town outside of Salt Lake City. There they’ll battle it out with a $250,000 budget to transform their respective 5,500 square-foot homes appraised at $750,000. 

Each of the six weeks will challenge the teams to work on different zones of the property with guest judges coming to assess overall design, added value and creativity. This year among the wrenches thrown into the mix is the fact the judges will go in blind and not know whose home they’ll be touring ahead of time. First up is the kitchen, dining and living room. Leveling up the high stakes atmosphere, rookie and veteran wins are tracked on a scoreboard where the weekly winner secures $3,000 while the fellow teammates receive $1,500 to be used in the next challenge. 

The veteran lineup pairs Alison Victoria (Sin City Rehab) with former champ Michel Smith Boyd (Luxe for Less) and Jonathan Knight (Farmhouse Fixer) and his New Kids on the Block bandmate and brother Jordan Knight (Farmhouse Fixer: Camp Revamp). Chelsea and Cole DeBoer (Down Home Fab) and flipping, renovation and real estate experts Kamohai and Tristyn Kalama (Renovation Aloha) round out the rookie’s side.

In the end, whoever can bring the most value to their house receives bragging rights and the ultimate flex of a street sign with their names on it. The winner of Rock the Block will also have a donation made on their behalf to No Kid Hungry, which equates to providing 100,000 meals to children living with hunger.

Throughout the season, judges stopping by include Bobby Berk (Queer Eye), Mina Starsiak Hawk (Good Bones), previous winner Jasmine Roth (Help! I Wrecked My House),  Ray and Eilyn Jimenez (Divided By Design), Kim Myles (Battle on the Mountain), last season’s champions Lyndsay Lamb and Leslie Davis (Unsellable Houses). It all leads up to Property Brothers’ Jonathan Scott (Celebrity IOU) surveying the completed homes, including the newly revealed exteriors, guest rooms and balconies, before joining Pennington to announce the winning team.

Here Pennington previews the season, as well as opens about why he believes he is in a good place in life. 

What do you think of the Rookies vs. Veterans team dynamic this year? 

Ty Pennington: As someone who is a seasoned veteran, I think it’s great. It’s such a competitive show. Michel Smith Boyd came on his rookie year and won with Anthony [Elle]. So, anything can happen. I think that’s what makes this so great. Even people who have been on several times and have experience with it are still going against people who want to make a name for themselves. It’s a totally different animal. You’re talking about some very large houses, one-acre of land. You not only have some big shoes to fill but big spaces to fill. Nobody is safe. I love it. It’s a dry, dusty climate, with a beautiful background. It’s such an epic bonanza, if you will. 

This season the guest judges are going in blind. This tells me producers are listening to feedback from viewers.  

I think blind judging is the only way to go in my opinion. Yes, is it cool to know someone and sort of say, “Wow, they’ve totally switched their style and gotten out of their comfort zone.” At the same time, it’s better when you’re judging just on what these teams are giving visually. The judges have no idea who did it or where it came from, but you’re just surprised and curious what you see. I think that’s the best way to judge any art. I think blind judging was a great way to go. I think you really get more honest, verbal explanations of what the judge thinks because they have no idea who created it. One thing the judges do is not miss a detail. 

What do you make of the teams? Alison going for her first win again. You have to give her credit for coming back each time. Also, I think it’s interesting Jonathan brought his brother Jordan this time around. It’s almost like a veteran-rookie hybrid team, even though Jordan had been a judge in the past. And then you have the new couples. 

Honestly, I love the Kalamas. They have come across the great ocean to be in the middle of the desert. They are such good competitors. For Jonathan, instead of having his right arm when it comes to design, he brought in his brother so it’s a family affair. These guys have been in front of the camera for many years. They are definitely seasoned in that way. The DeBoers truly know what barn and farm life is truly like and bring a unique perspective. They were more at home than anyone in a way. Then you have Alison and Michel who are such great designers. They are heavy hitters and city slickers, so you have a variety of backgrounds and styles. That makes for a great show. 

How about the judges? 

I think we have a great bunch of judges who are not only entertaining but very opinionated, which you want in judges. It’s great too when someone like Jasmine comes back, who really competed and knows what it’s like. They understand what it’s really like trying to get your materials, meet deadlines and the amount of work you have to put in on a weekly basis. They understand this is not an easy task. These guys are away from their families, so pulling off miracles is a challenge. But they do it, and it’s amazing. 

What is something we may not see through the process that may surprise people or find interesting? 

Weather. 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. 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. 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. 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. Then you also have to be on TV at the same time. That’s what makes it such a great show. Do you want to share the drama or do you want to compress it and sweep it under the rug? 

Here’s the honest truth, these guys are very good at what they do. There is nothing harder than this show than on the designer because they are trying to prove themselves against some of the best in the business. So, they’re going to try things they’ve never tried before and pull off miracles that haven’t been done before. It really comes down to who is going to work the hardest, put in the most time, who is going to go the extra nine yards for the win. It takes a lot out of you, but that’s how you decide whose name is going to be on that sign because it takes a lot. You have to really want to win. 

With all these shows, are there any shows you like to watch on HGTV? 

Of course, I like the sound of my own voice. I honestly think Rock the Block is one of the best. A lot of the teams have their own shows and are in their own sort of niche. It’s taking people out of their element, setting them up on what’s like a fire island and saying, “Can you pull this off for the judges?” That’s what I love. I love a lot of shows on HGTV. I think they are a lot of fun, but I think this is so compact and concentrated. It’s everything we love to see. A bigger budget and bigger ideas, but also a shorter deadline. You also have to come up with something that will dazzle you and is timeless. That’s the challenge of home TV. 

It’s crazy to think you’ve been in the home reno TV show game for 25 years. How does it feel to be this godfather of the genre? 

I would have never thought I would be a godfather of anything. I’ve always been the adolescent one. It’s funny. I’ve been doing this for 25 years. Isn’t that crazy? I have to say it’s great to be able to also lend a mentor’s eye and ear to people coming up and trying to make names for themselves. One thing I do have is experience. I also know what works and what can lead to a big failure. I try to help out whenever I can verbally. I can also see when things take a tough turn and try to give a word of advice. In the end it comes down to the teams and individuals, and them working together and knowing their strengths and weaknesses like we do in real life. I still love it. I’m a good ear and shoulder to lean on, but in the end, you can’t help too much. You have to let them find a way. Hopefully, it’s a way to victory. 

You’ve been through so much over the years including working through some dark times. It seems you are in a great place right now. Your wife Kellie [Merrell] looks to be a big part of that. How much has she meant to you and the place you’re in mentally and in your life right now? 

I just love that you said I’ve gone through some dark times like I’ve been through something like the Middle Ages [laughs]. No, honestly, I was on the road so much I couldn’t even keep a plant alive much less a relationship. I’m actually in a great place in my life. I’m happy with someone who I love and has a great sense of humor. I’ve got two small dogs. I don’t know how I love them so much when their breath smells like fish and garbage, but I do. It’s a great place to be. Content is something I’ve never really had. I’ve always strived to be working on the next project and next thing. Once you get to the point where you don’t have to prove anything to yourself, then you start to realize, “I’m good enough to just breathe and not have to compete. Not have to overdo everything.” It’s a healthier place to be mentally. I think in the world we live in, that’s a necessity these days. 

How many houses do you have these days? 

I work on one, live in it, flip it and move on to the next one. I built one in Florida. It’s a very sustainable home and one of those things where I’ve designed every part of it. It’s also super healthy and where I have my mom living. I also live in Savannah, which is a few hours north. So, I can pop in about every two weeks to keep an eye on her. I have the people looking after her, but I also go since she is close. I’m in a good spot that way. 

One thing I’ve always been curious about. How  many hats do you own? 

Look, I’m at that age, but at the same time, I’ve always collected some really cool hats. Even in the 1990s, I was wearing some really weird toboggan ski hats. I like hats. I seem to have worn a lot of different ones, literally and physically. An estimate of how many? I don’t know. Probably, about the same as shoes. That goes without saying. I’m really frugal. I’ll find them in thrift stores. It’s funny I have an old Stetson that I found for 12 bucks that is probably 400 in real life. I’ve always been really thrifty. I’ve been collecting vintage things for a long time. 

Rock the Block Season 6 premiere, April 14, 9/8c, HGTV