A new business-focused lifestyle series will be broadcasting soon through local TV stations. Lifestyle Austin TX brings journalist Catenya McHenry to screens Saturday, October 4, to discuss experiences owning a business with local entrepreneurs.
The new series has been greenlighted by KXAN, which is NBC’s local affiliate station, plus local stations KBVO (Llano, NBC) and KNVA (Austin, The CW).
A press release characterizes McHenry, a former KXAN anchor and reporter, as a “passionate champion for entrepreneurship.” She will dig into the business landscape through the eyes of entrepreneurs in retail, restaurants, real estate, music, and events — and some may be niche enough that viewers haven’t heard of them yet.
Episodes will be shot on location, so each will focus on businesses within a certain region of Austin. According to the release, this will help viewers get a sense of each neighborhood’s character.
It won’t all be rosy for the business owners, who will discuss hardships along with wins.
“Entrepreneurs are a cornerstone of the global economy, yet the relentless grind, personal sacrifice, doubt, stress, and purpose behind launching and growing a business often go unseen,” said McHenry in the release. “I’ve heard people say, ‘I’ve driven by that place countless times and have never stopped to eat or shop,’ so I’m excited to not only offer a fresh way to share Austin-centric human interest stories … but also help locals and tourists discover something new.”
One episode is already available as a preview on YouTube.
McHenry herself is an entrepreneur, and it’s her production company, VisionAries, that will produce the show. VisionAries focuses on content about “bravery and women’s issues,” the release says. However, the show does not appear to be limited to women’s experiences in business.
McHenry has spent more than 25 years in broadcast journalism and related media fields, and has even played TV reporters in the films Miss Congeniality and The Life of David Gale — so it sounds like versatility won’t be a problem for this host. She also has a podcast called Fxck Fear, a comedy series called The Mom Who Can’t Cook, and multiple published books including Married to a Narcissist: Enduring the Struggle and Finding You Again.
“We were very interested in Lifestyle Austin TX because of its local appeal and unique concept,” said KXAN General Manager Eric Lassberg. “There!s nothing like it that exists right now, and we are thrilled to add Lifestyle Austin TX to our portfolio of programming.”
Lifestyle Austin TX will run first on KBVO at noon on Saturdays, then rerun on KNVA at 5:30 pm on Sundays. It will also be available on-demand on the KXAN+ app, with additional streaming on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and Samsung TV.