QVC’s John Battagliese on His New Show, ‘Work Wife’ Kim Gravel, Kelly Clarkson & More

When others may be up late watching cartoons, old movies, MTV, or maybe even Nick at Night, a younger John Battagliese used to stay up watching QVC. The 32-year-old was infatuated with the hosts alongside talk show titans like Regis Philbin and Rosie O’Donnell. Fast forward to today as the retail juggernaut celebrates 40 years, he’s now a fixture for the brand. After joining the network in 2024, the theater actor is excited to have his own show Cart Blanche premiering June 16 on QVC+/HSN+. 

The series has promoted the show as a “fresh, entertainment-forward format designed to welcome the new generation.” He’ll welcome famous faces from all walks of life while infusing humor, nostalgia, and a little bit of retail therapy. His first guest is longtime friend and comedian Heather McMahan. 

Ahead of the premiere, we sat down with Battagliese to talk about his journey from Kellyoke winner on the The Kelly Clarkson Show to living the dream hosting. 

Take me through how you landed at QVC and how this new project came about. 

 John Battagliese: This was my ultimate dream when I started with QVC. I grew up as a huge QVC fan. I grew up literally down the street from QVC, so it’s kind of a full-circle moment to be back there and working on this. I would stay up all night memorizing Today’s Special Value and falling in love with Joan Rivers. My parents bought me a TV for my room because I was afraid of my own shadow. I just fell in love with this world of QVC. At the heart of it was the connection because at 6 and 12 I wasn’t buying moisturizers.  I loved the confidence that came with all these conversations. Just watching Joan Rivers inspires people to be their best self. In the back of my mind, I knew I wanted to work with QVC in some capacity. 

I went on to pursue a career in theater, worked a lot, and met a lot of people. When the pandemic happened in 2020 and theaters shut down, I thought about what was pulling at my heart. I kept coming back to QVC. Eventually, a few years later I got the job. When I started here, my whole goal was to bring in this new demographic and chapter with all the people I knew in the entertainment industry who had some sort of connection to QVC. You may have watched it with a grandparent, or like me, stayed up late watching it as a kid. I wanted to bring in those new fresh perspectives for the next 40 years of QVC. To have it happening, I feel like it’s a dream come true. 

Why was Heather McMahan the best first guest for you to kick things off? 

We both have a shared love of Joan Rivers. She plays a large role in both of our story arcs becoming people in the entertainment industry. To me, she is the modern day version of Joan Rivers. Not only with her comedy, but it’s also her style. I think her audience-base speaks a lot to not only their QVC customers, but the next generation of QVC customers. She is also a dear friend. I wanted someone who I had a relationship with who also would really speak to the QVC customer. Also, someone where we would laugh a lot because I think we need more joy and more laughter right now. She was the perfect first guest. It’s going to be a mix of comedians, singers, actors, influencers, who really are not only tastemakers, but people you want to spend time with. 

Any other future guests you want to tease that you’re excited about? 

There are a few. I can give you the next few. This week we’re filming our second episode with Matt Rogers. I think it’s going to be amazing not only because he and Bowen Yang are the “Culturistas,” when we speak of culture and pop culture in general. He also has that connection having done that I Love That For You Show, which was kind of a spoof of QVC. So, I’m excited about talking to him about that and the connection he has to us in general. I think it’s also a landing spot for us because we are so much in the zeitgeist. We pop up on SNL, these different internet moments. Because our linear broadcast is so dedicated to what our customers love and tune in for in terms of shopping, there are moments to address it or places to address it. It becomes a place where we can be part of the conversation. The next day we are filming a live episode with Kim Gravel, who is obviously our QVC queen. On a personal note, she has become my work wife. Her and I have gotten into a few viral videos online. I’m very excited because we have some surprises planned for her for that show of some of my influencer and comedian friends making appearances at the actual live tapings. 

The show is also premiering during Pride Month. I know you do a lot of great things with GLAAD on the red carpet and things like that. How is it  to be a voice and representation of the community? 

I think Pride Month is more important than ever now. I feel like the luckiest boy in the world to be surrounded by an army of fabulous women. Starting at QVC, even growing up as a kid, it felt like a safe place watching these people. The biggest thing when I started here was those same women, and men too, but the DNA of QVC, those same women lifted me up and for the first time in my life really made me feel I could unabashedly be my most confident self. I wish I could bottle that up and give it to the world, especially LGBTQ youth growing up right now. That’s what I hope our podcast is, whether our guests are a part of the community or not, I want to share stories that inspire and make people feel less alone. That is what QVC has always been for so many. This is the next generation and extension of that. 

I saw you got to interview Rosie O’Donnell at the Tony Awards. What did that mean to you? 

It’s crazy! I love getting to meet Rosie. She was really instrumental for so many of us in kind of exposing the nation to Broadway in a huge way. Having performances on her talk show. Also, I didn’t get a chance to talk to her on the red carpet, but Kelly Ripa is another. I was just a boy watching QVC and dreaming of being Regis. That was another crazy moment. I had it on my vision board before I started at QVC that I just wanted to meet and work with Hoda [Kotb]. We’re talking about the pinnacle when we talk about talk shows. Within my first six months I got to work with Hoda as part of QVC. She couldn’t have been kinder or more encouraging and to be a boy who grew up down the street in suburban Pennsylvania from QVC, able to get to work with all these people. It is the biggest gift. I owe QVC for helping me carve out this path. 

 

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People also got to know you as a winner of Kellyoke in 2022 on The Kelly Clarkson Show. How do you reflect on that experience and what it did for your career? 

I think it gave me the confidence and unlocked that anything is possible. I was able to be on the The Kelly Clarkson Show from posting silly videos on social media. It started to me as kind of a joke. When I saw it could actually get legs, it unlocked something in me where so often we tell ourselves no or stop ourselves before we begin. It was really a lesson of go before you’re ready and take a risk. Getting to work in that, The Kelly Clarkson Show was my television debut. It was kind of fun for me to look back at this moment in time. Now that the show is wrapping, you look at what it has done. Much like the talk shows of yesteryear, we can talk about people making their debut like on on The Carol Burnett Show or something like that. I can’t believe I got to sing with her. I can’t believe that is on video. It’s something I will play on repeat until my dying day. 

You talked about making viral videos. QVC seems to be embracing this digital era and looking at content and changing perception becoming more of a content creating brand. On June 17, QVC is even hosting a TikTok Shop special. What do you make of its evolution as  someone who has followed QVC for so long?  

I think we were the original influencers. Before there was social media or Instagram or TikTok, there was QVC. People could be tuning in anywhere in the country, and now the world, and get that recommendation on a recipe that works with the spoons they are getting or the styling tips for fashion and beauty. I think it’s only a natural progression that we move into this social space. Within a year of joining TikTok we became the number one TikTok shop. We are able to take that DNA that sets us apart and move that in this next chapter. I’m really excited about it. I think at the art of it it comes down to the connection. You can see different things in a magazine and ads on a page, but the reason we connect with influencers is a person to person connection. That is what I think we do so well. I’m really excited for this chapter for us. 

As a host, what has been the best advice you’ve received ?  

Kim Gravel has told me you can’t fake it. I really think that is correct. What you see is what you get on television. I think so many of us and so many of us in our daily lives really try to curate who we are. I learned very quickly starting this job that I was trying to micromanage my first few appearances. I was like if I stumbled over that word or something. At the end of the day, when I see people do that I feel closer to them. I think the thing I’ve learned and taken is to be your most authentic self. On the other side of showing that authenticity is a world of people waiting to greet you with open arms. 

Cart Blanche premiere,  June 16, QVC+/HSN+