VHS Grad Gets Pilot Show On HGTV

Arlene Gibbs grew up in Verona, but now makes her home in Rome.

If you are dreaming of a villa in Italy right now, you might want to check out a show on HGTV this Friday: “Reno Italiano,” by one-time Verona resident Arlene Gibbs. 

Gibbs has been a wanderer since graduating from Verona High School. After majoring in international relations at Syracuse University, she worked in Washington for then Sen. Bill Bradley and on Bill Clinton’s first presidential campaign. She pivoted to Hollywood, where she got involved with Don Cheadle’s terrorist thriller “Traitor” and was the co-writer of “Jumping The Broom,” which starred Angela Bassett and earned Gibbs a nomination for best screenplay. In 2008, Gibbs said good-bye to Hollywood and decamped for Rome, where she transformed herself into an interior designer.

And now she has a pilot for a show called “Reno Italiano.” It focuses on the renovation of a 200-plus-year-old house in a small town between Rome and Naples for an American couple. “This was not an easy renovation and we were doing it in Italy on a very narrow street,” Gibbs said on her design firm’s website, which features several other stunning projects.

“Reno Italiano” will air on Friday, January 15, at 11:30 a.m. eastern, between “Flip or Flop” and “Love It or List It,” Gibbs says. And yes, she’s hoping the pilot will be greenlighted for a full series. If you watch it, share your thoughts on social media with @hgtv using the hashtag #renoitaliano .