The Cast of 'Small Town Potential' Makes LGBTQ+ History in the Home Reno Space

Who doesn't like to cozy up with a wholesome home renovation show? There's nothing like living vicariously through someone else's homeowner shoes as they take their laughably disproportionate salaries from their eccentric jobs and put it toward some lavish and lovely home renovation projects that many of us can only dream of. There's never anything wrong with watching these house transformations and dreaming about doing the same to our homes one day. Small Town Potential is one of the latest offerings toward that end.

Small Town Potential follows co-hosts Davina Thomasula and Kristin Leitheuser as they took on all sorts of renovation projects in the Hudson Valley. They take a step back from the bustle of the big city to really bring out diamonds in the rough by transforming all sorts of small town houses into lovely forever homes.

Although the show was originally announced for 2023, Small Town Potential arrived on HGTV in 2024. The cast had made a new leap forward for LGBTQ+ representation.

As previously mentioned, Davina Thomasula and Kristin Leitheuser are the faces of Small Town Potential. According to her HGTV bio, Davina is a real estate agent, designer, and business owner who comes up with the vision for each home in the show and strives to bring it to life. Meanwhile, Kristin does the heavy lifting as the contractor bringing Davina's plans to fruition. Kristin also works closely with her dad and building partner, Don, on the renovations.

Not only are they a power couple in the home reno space, but Davina and Kristin are both making a groundbreaking achievement on HGTV as the first openly queer female couple to host their own show on the network. While HGTV has been home to LGBTQ+-led shows before, Davina and Kristin cemented themselves as inspiring new queer personalities. Of course, it's a responsibility they take seriously.

In a 2024 interview with TODAY, Davina and Kristin spoke on the representation that they embody as hosts of Small Town Potential.

Davina told the outlet, "We want to be visible and create awareness. I think that's really important for our community. So we're proud to be here and this is what we want to do."

Kristin echoed the sentiment, stating that their having a platform is "super important."

Aside from being exciting new queer hosts on HGTV, Davina and Kristin run their own bar called Goodnight Kenny, located in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.

While their show has been a long time coming, the two of them are now fully displaying their home reno skills as they shine a spotlight on queer representation in reality TV.

New episodes of Small Town Potential premiere on Sundays at 9 p.m. EST on HGTV. The series is also streaming on Discovery Plus.