Living With Ed

Actress Rachelle Carson often sees red while living green with her quirky, eco-obsessed husband, the Emmy-nominated actor Ed Begley Jr. The result is Living with Ed, HGTV’s hilarious new family docu-soap that is set in the couple’s modest, solar-powered, two-bedroom Hollywood home and showcases the unconventional lifestyle and comically-contentious chemistry of the duo. AAiring as a sneak preview on New Year’s Day at 1 p.m. ET/PT, immediately following Ed and Rachelle’s appearance at the 118th Annual Tournament of Roses Parade, the six-episode series will premiere in its regular time slot on Sunday nights beginning January 7 at 10 p.m. ET/PT.

In addition, beginning Monday, January 1, http://www.HGTV.com will offer exclusive video tips from Ed. The tips are the perfect complement to the new show and will provide practical advice to help viewers make their homes more environmentally friendly.

Begley, who may be best known for his role on the 1980s hit hospital drama
St. Elsewhere, has been a committed environmentalist since 1970. He drives an electric car, charges phones with solar-powered backpacks, owns modern windmill farms to offset his carbon footprint, and rides his bicycle to the Academy Awards. His painstaking efforts often make Rachelle roll her eyes with exasperation.

While viewers might wonder if this loving yet stormy relationship can survive Begley’s passion for recycling and saving energy, Living with Ed offers real tips on how to create a more eco-friendly home. For instance, Begley recommends replacing normal light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs which use a fraction of the energy and last nine times as long. He also advocates energy-saving thermostats, extra insulation, double pane windows and an energy-efficient refrigerators as tools to conserve the environment. In fact, while humor fuels the fast-paced series, the show’s production is a green operation that uses hybrid vehicles, recycled materials and taps into Ed’s solar power to charge phones and cameras.

Some viewers will be inspired by Ed’s sincerity and his unrelenting efforts to transform his home into a shining eco-friendly example, while others are sure to relate to Rachelle’s desire for a “normal” existence and a new home with more space and less restrictions. In the series, Ed clocks Rachelle’s shower with a stopwatch, amusingly taunting her outside the bathroom door about how many gallons of water she’s wasting.