The Travel Channel will air a one-hour special called “Toy Hunters” this weekend on Sunday January 15th at 11:00pm.
The show chronicles host, Jordan Hembrough’s trek as he hunts for vintage collectible toys to take to the New York Comic Con to sell. This episode includes a visit to several collectors in Cincinnati and includes lots of local footage, a few local landmarks like Montgomery Inn Boathouse, the downtown skyline, and several of Cincinnati’s own original toymakers as well.
Hembrough runs a company in New Jersey called “Hollywood Heroes” that specializes in the sale of collectible vintage toys. He has spent years scouring the country (in a somewhat similar fashion as the guys we’ve all seen on History Channel’s “American Pickers”) in search of forgotten toy treasures in people’s basements, garages and attics. But, he also works directly with collectors and often the actual toymakers and original inventors behind the toys he’s hunting.
When asked how the show came about, Hembrough said he was approached by an old high school friend who was working with a casting agent. They were having a challenging time finding the right talent for a pilot they were working on. Hembrough had some previous acting experience in his background and they sent him the casting notice. They wanted someone deeply familiar with popular culture and experienced in buying and selling collectible memorabilia professionally, not just as a hobby. After several interviews with Sharp Entertainment, (creators of "Man vs. Food," "Extreme Couponing" and others) and they decided he was their man.
In the show, you’ll see Cincinnati’s famed Queen City Comics, and several former Kenner Toys veterans showing some of the most prized pieces of their vintage toy collections.
Hembrough says, “We need lots of live eyeballs watching the show Sunday night. We hope people will make a special effort to stay up and watch. If people DVR or TiVO it to watch later, we don’t get credit in the ratings.” And, the ratings are absolutely critical for a pilot show like this. The ratings will be the deciding factor as to whether this is a one-and-done special program, or whether this show catches the attention of the powers that be and is considered for other episodes.
Hembrough is ready to produce more episodes…. And he’s ready to bring the show back to Cincinnati when he does it.
“Cincinnati is Toy Country USA!” declared Hembrough.
“This show is my personal love letter to Cincinnati and the people of Kenner Toys. You helped build my company. You were some of my earliest clients, and remain my dearest friends. I truly hope everyone enjoys this walk down "memory lane" as much as I did. From the bottom of my heart, thank you... all of you.”
Tune in Sunday night at 11:00pm and help raise the ratings for this fledgling startup reality show, Toy Hunters. Enjoy seeing your hometown on national television this weekend on the Travel Channel. That’s channel 55 on Insight Cable in Northern Kentucky, channel 155 on Time Warner, and channel 196 on DishNetwork.
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