Common Sense Media Review
By Kari Croop
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Fascinating hunt for Tinseltown gems is fun family viewing.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 8+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
What's the Story?
Joe Maddalena and his team of experts are searching high and low for HOLLYWOOD TREASURE in this Syfy reality series about Joe's successful auction business, Profiles in History. Acting on third-party tips and first-person observations, the Profiles team heads out into the field to investigate potential auction pieces and give the items' owners an estimated value of their worth. But, more often than not, the actual auction at the end of every episode produces some surprising final price tags.
Is It Any Good?
Although it starts off on shaky ground with some forced and overly scripted "dialogue" during a staff meeting, Hollywood Treasure quickly redeems itself with some legitimately cool items that are truly Hollywood treasures. Like the iconic pointy, black hat worn by Margaret Hamilton as the Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz (which ends up selling at auction for $200,000). Or the seemingly bottomless carpet bag Julie Andrews toted around in Mary Poppins (which sold for nearly $100,000).
Seeing these rare items up close -- or, at least, as close as your TV screen allows -- is the real treat. But Hollywood Treasure also peppers each episode with interesting facts about the items' history and sheds light on some often-overlooked entertainment icons. Shows with real cross-generational appeal don't come along too often, so keep this one at the ready -- and enjoy.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about consumerism and the value of some of these items. How do auctions work, and how do Joe and his team set values for the items they put on the block? Were you surprised by how much some of the items went for at auction?
How does Joe's business benefit from being featured on this show? Before watching the show, did you realize that you could buy items like these at auction?
Parents and kids can also have fun discussing the movies and television shows associated with the most famous items. Would you ever want to own a piece of Hollywood history? How much would you be willing to pay?
TV Details
- Premiere date : October 27, 2010
- Cast : Joe Maddalena
- Network : Syfy
- Genre : Reality TV
- TV rating :
- Last updated : September 21, 2019
Did we miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by
Suggest an Update
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
See how we rate