Exclusive: ‘Battle on the Beach’ Season 5 Promises Intense Psychological Drama and Thrilling Moments

Get ready for another intense coastal clash on HGTV with the return of a popular series.

The fifth season of Battle on the Beach is set to debut on June 1, bringing a wave of excitement with new mentors and unexpected twists to the competition.

“There are so many standout moments this season,” shared Sarah Baeumler from Renovation Island in an interview with Showbiz Cheat Sheet. “There are numerous changes this time around. I feel like they’ve shuffled things up in multiple ways, and that’s definitely going to keep the audience engaged.”

Sarah Baeumler goes from ‘Battle on the Beach’ judge to mentor

Baeumler is no stranger to Battle on the Beach. She previously participated as a judge on the show, which pits teams of designers against each other to craft the ultimate seaside vacation rental. This season, the judging panel welcomes Renovation Aloha‘s Tristyn and Kamohai Kalama as they take over the critique duties.

“I didn’t know what to expect at first,” Baeumler admitted. “Judging is… well, it’s certainly easier. Critiquing a space is far less challenging than being involved in the creation process. However, it’s not as fulfilling. I must say that acting as a mentor was one of the most gratifying experiences I’ve had.”

Baeumler is joined by Battle on the Beach newbie Mika Kleinschmidt and returning mentor Ty Pennington for the new season, which is set on South Carolina’s Grand Strand. 

“I’m not new to a competition show, but I’m definitely new to the role that I had in this particular show,” Kleinschmidt said. “And like Sarah said, it was very rewarding. We didn’t really know much about the teams until day one when we were really in it. So there was a nervousness leading up to that. I know Ty and Sarah, so I was like, OK, I got my crew, but then what the heck did the houses look like? Who am I working with? All of that was very scary leading up to it, but it was just a learning experience.”

Ty Pennington turned to his mom for help mentoring his team

Discovering the best way to work with their teams of skilled DIYers was one challenge for all three mentors. Kleinschmidt’s team is a married couple, Anna and Josiah Julian, and she was able to draw on her own experience as one half of a husband-and-wife reno team. 

“I definitely could empathize because I work with my husband, Brian, and I know how that dynamic works,” she said. 

Baeumler, meanwhile, had to “learn the hard way” when to step back and when to offer her team, married couple Steven and Angelina Jacobs, constructive advice. 

“I sort of took the approach, maybe like a parent, that part of me came out. Like, ‘OK, I have to let my kids make their own mistakes,’” she shared. “I have to let them figure out things on their own and really come to terms to bring their vision to life. But there’s also a role there as a mentor where you have to know when you should step in, when you need to speak up and sort of say, ‘OK, have you thought about this in a different way?’”

In the Battle on the Beach premiere, Pennington faces a difficult situation when one member of his mother-daughter team has a bit of a meltdown over differing design visions. He turned to his mom, who is a family therapist, for advice on how to handle things with Michelle Mueller and Sydney Lorence. 

“I actually had to call her and be like, ‘I think I’ve got someone who’s got a real confidence issue,’” he said. “And it stemmed from the fact that her mom is an incredible DIYer … so living in the shadow of that, I think was giving one of my teammates a bit of a psychological sort of drama because she invited her mom to be part of it, not vice versa. So it was interesting because you’re battling confidence, you’re battling egos.”

Partner-swap twist adds excitement to ‘Battle on the Beach’ Season 5

Doing massive home renovations on a short-time frame is always going to be stressful. And this season of Battle on the Beach spices things up with some additionals twists and challenges. One is a “scavenger hunt sort of a thing,” Pennington teased, where the team had to find unwanted items to use in their renovations. 

“It was just so awesome to have that sort of competition because I think some things that people discard can really be a treasure,” he said. 

Another unexpected challenge? A partner-swap. 

“They basically had to work on a space with somebody from the other team,” Kleinschmidt shared. “I mean, even us as mentors, we were like, ‘What’s happening? Wait, what’s going on?’”

For Pennington’s team, temporarily switching partners was a game-changer. 

“It was really crucial because for the first time the daughter could work with somebody else besides her mom,” he said. “And that [was a] completely different relationship and I was like, ‘Oh my God, maybe this is even better’ … That is definitely one of those cool new twists that was very fun.”

Battle on the Beach premieres Monday, June 1, at 9 p.m. ET/PT on HGTV. Episodes also stream on HBO Max. 

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