Launching this past October on Sarasota News Network, Home and Castle TV takes viewers on a weekly luxury tour of the region’s latest in real estate, style and high-end escape. Created, hosted, produced and written by Tia Castle, SRQ took a moment to speak with the driving force behind Home and Castle.

A weekly show is a lot of time and effort. What about this project inspired that kind of commitment? I’ve always wanted to have a business that I have a passion for and that I absolutely love doing 24-7, a business that felt like it wasn’t a job. That's’ what this is. Having grown up in this area, then having moved away and moved back, I realized how special this area is and I wanted to create a show that would show off what our community is about and to leave people feeling proud of their community.

How has reception been from the community? It’s been amazing. We do a new show every week and we just did the ninth episode, and I have people writing to me saying, “Thanks for putting the cool back into Sarasota.” But I didn’t put the cool back into Sarasota; it was already there.

What is the most challenging aspect to putting together a weekly show? Not having myself cloned. It’s time. Building something new, there isn’t really a format to follow, where somebody’s been there, done that and can help you out. You have to figure out a lot of things as you go along. Up to this point, having to do everything myself – writing, hosting, handling staff, booking shows, deciding on content—has been the biggest challenge. And that’s every single week, with a deadline.

What is it that’s different about the show? There are two businesses in the show. One part is run on advertorials, but it’s creating entertaining stories. The other aspect is the actual production side. It’s two in one. Being at The Hub has been very helpful, and having that shared space where creative people can get together and share a studio. That has helped me to get the show off the ground.

Where do you hope to take Home and Castle TV in the future? I would like to duplicate this format around the country. Do it first in Florida, going to the St. Pete market, then to the Miami market and Naples.