When the creators of the new show “American Mansion” on the National Geographic Channel were looking for a host, they reached out to the agent of former Texas A&M University student David Applebaum, saying they had a really good show, but the 50 potential hosts they’d auditioned so far were all wrong. They wanted a real, working architect ― someone who knows something about mansions.

Applebaum joined Brazos Valley This Morning Thursday to talk about the show and the premiere episode.

See the entire interview from BVTM in the video player.

“American Mansion,” premieres on NatGeo on Friday, Oct. 12, at 7 p.m. The first mansion? Kykuit, The Rockefeller Estate in Westchester County, N.Y.

The four-story, 40-room stone mansion was home to three generations of the Rockefeller family, starting with John D. Rockefeller, founder of Standard Oil. The house overlooks the Hudson River and Kykuit means “lookout” in Afrikaans.

Applebaum says this show doesn't aim to make fun of anyone, or ridicule, but educate viewers about how these homes came to be. Many have fantastic stories about periods of American history.