We’ve seen small towns romanticized in countless books, movies, and TV shows – there’s always fall leaves coating the road, nosy neighbors who somehow know all of your business and that one bar, where the bartender knows everyone’s order. So why do we love small towns so much? And how does that image match up with reality? On HGTV’s Townsizing, renowned author and writer Anne Helen Petersen (NYT, Buzzfeed) takes you to small towns across the U.S. and talks to the people who make them special. From HGTV’s Ben and Erin Napier who helped revive their hometown of Laurel, Mississippi to Brian Brigantti and Domonick Gravine of Redleaf Ranch who open up about the realities of being queer in a rural Tennessee, we speak to the people who are creating community, building legacies and shattering stereotypes about small town life.

As lead producer on the show, I helped conceptualize the format, wrote for the host, produced interviews and gave editorial direction on sound design.

Selected episodes:

Small Down Dating, It Isn’t Easy

Being a Teenager in a Small Town with Who? Weekly’s Bobby Finger

Manifesting Abundance with Redleaf Ranch’s Brian Brigantti and Domonick Gravine