15 Fast Facts About the Celebrity-Packed Extreme Makeover: Home Edition

Most people can probably agree that new host Jesse Tyler Ferguson is basically the most likeable guy around. The Modern Family star isn’t as savvy in terms of construction or design as some other hosts, but that’s what makes him so perfect for this: he resonates with the featured families on a much more personal level. It’s kind of like having a super fan reporting from the set and telling us all of the things we really want to know about at home.

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That’s not to say we don’t have room in our hearts for original host with the most, Ty Pennington. The 55-year-old revealed he’s happy for Ferguson in an interview with TMZ. “Just being a part of that show for anybody – it’s just going to be the best thing to ever happen to him,” he said. “I shouldn’t hog all the good vibes.” That’s not to say Pennington won’t get some of them: he’ll appear as a guest star on this iteration, too.

Speaking of guest stars, we can’t think of a more inspiring personality to add to this roster than Leann Rimes, who remains the youngest recipient ever of the Best New Artist award at the Grammys (she was just 14 when she won!). “I was an avid fan of the original Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, so when I heard about the reboot, I just had to have a hand in it,” Rimes told HGTV. “It’s an honour to help renovate a dream home for a deserving family, and I’m ready to roll up my sleeves and get to work. Let’s move that bus, y’all!”

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This black-ish star has worked with many charities over his career, and he and his kids have also volunteered with Habitat for Humanity in the past. So when he heard this series was returning he knew that he had to be a part of it. “I will be part of making a real impact on a family’s future,” Anderson told HGTV. “The joy of working alongside people in the community to help a family get a fresh start in their new home is extraordinary.”

Another reason to get excited about this revival has everything to do with the bona fide HGTV talent that’s coming on board. And yes that includes Flipping 101 star Tarek El Moussa. The contractor extraordinaire revealed he’s boarding the bus on his Instagram stories. “I’m in Ogden, Utah filming Extreme Makeover: Home Edition!” he said in a video. “It’s going to be really, really cool. Exciting things going on. We are going to be giving back to an amazing family.”

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Back in 2010 the former Dancing With the Stars pro stopped by Extreme Makeover: Home Edition with some of his co-stars to help create a new home for the Arboleda Family. Apparently he really enjoyed the experience, because he’s also been tapped to stop by the new show and lend a hand when it returns. No word on whether he’ll bring any of his signature dance moves, though.

These 10 episodes promise to be jam-packed-there’s a celebrity guest star in each installment, says Jesse Tyler Ferguson. So who else is rounding out this impressive list? That would be Food Network star Tyler Florence, HGTV stars David Bromstad (host of My Lottery Dream Home) and Jasmine Roth (Host of Hidden Potential), and four-time undefeated world champion boxer (and two-time author) Laila Ali.

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Here to help Jesse Tyler Ferguson and the various guest stars keep things on track are three very talented designers. Breegan Jane, Darren Keefe and Carrie Locklyn are making their HGTV debuts in a pretty big way with this series. They’ll head up all of the demolition, building, and creating as they imagine the new spaces that will add infinite value to these families’ everyday lives.

If you stop and think about it, that bus really is an important part of the show’s history. Not only does it signify potential, change, and the act of volunteering, but it’s the place where these personalities all congregate to plan and make dreams come true. Obviously saying the catchphrase, “Move that bus!” was pretty cool for Jesse Tyler Ferguson the first time he got to do it, but it’s safe to say that this season, because of the history involved, the bus really is like its own character.

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The 10 families featured across the new season are all inspiring in their own ways, whether it’s a family that adopts, volunteers in their community, or helps to bring change to those who need it. So to see them have good things in return makes your heart want to burst. We actually cast a wide variety of families. Many of them were nominated from family members in the community,” reveals HGTV VP of production and development, Loren Ruch. “This round we really celebrated a lot of local heroes, so a lot of people nominated the firefighter who meant something in their unit. Or the lunch lady who was contributing in the nearby nursing home. A lot of them were really grass roots nominations.”

Another key difference between this revival and the original series is that the main goal is to help the families find a space that works for them. Sometimes that means a remodel, sometimes that means a demolition, and sometimes that means a complete rebuild. “The size and scope are going to be different in each episode,” promises Ruch.

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These families are so inspiring that the powers-that-be decided giving them a new home wasn’t always enough. So in addition to gifting these families the homes they truly deserve, the show also took the transformations one step further by establishing scholarships or financial compensation in order to help make some of these families’ lives that much easier in the long haul.

If this feels like a more personal season of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, that’s because it is. The designers really wanted to spend time with the homeowners and to get to know them before overhauling their spaces so that they could add personal touches to the designs. “We had quite a bit of lead-up time before we actually shot the show,” says Darren Keefe. “So we had the ability to get to know the families before we actually ended up on site. We had months of preparation.”

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Whether the team is rebuilding a home from scratch or adding function to an existing home, a five-day renovation from top-to-bottom is a pretty tall order. That’s where the 10,000 volunteers, who gave up more than 560,000 hours of their own time, come in handy. “It’s a true testament to all of the volunteers and to the builders who basically put their businesses on hold to help improve these families’ lives,” Jesse Tyler Ferguson says.

If you’re wondering why now is the right time for this show to make a comeback, the answer is simple: we all want TV that makes us feel good. “The show is the warm hug that everybody needs right now,” Ruch says. “And who would you rather get a good warm hug from than Jesse and this team? It felt like the time to have a feel-good show, to watch a show that makes you cry from happy tears to celebrate local heroes. It just feels like the absolute perfect time in our society for a show like this to come back.” Hear, hear.

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