Storyline

Extreme Makeover: Home Edition is an American reality television series providing home improvements for less fortunate families and community schools. The show is hosted by former model, carpenter and veteran television personality Ty Pennington. Each episode features a family that has faced some sort of recent or ongoing hardship such as a natural disaster or a family member with a life-threatening illness, in need of new hope. The show's producers coordinate with a local construction contractor, which then coordinates with various companies in the building trades for a makeover of the family's home. This includes interior, exterior and landscaping, performed in seven days while the family is on vacation and documented in the episode. If the house is beyond repair, they replace it entirely. The show's producers and crew film set and perform the makeover but do not pay for it. The materials and labor are donated. Many skilled and unskilled volunteers assist in the rapid construction of the house. EM:HE is considered a spinoff of Extreme Makeover, an earlier series providing personal makeovers to selected individuals, which the Home Edition has now outlasted. This show displays extreme changes to help recreate someone's space. However, the format differs considerably; in the original Extreme Makeover, for instance, participants were not necessarily chosen based on any recent hardship, whereas the family's backstory is an important component of Home Edition. EM:HE also has similarities to other home renovation series such as Trading Spaces, on which Pennington was previously a key personality.

First Aired

2003-12-03
Last Aired

2012-01-13
Creator
Genre

Reality
Seasons

9
Episodes

200
Status

Ended
Language

English
Network

ABC

Keywords:

construction makeover interior design home makeover

Stream and watch Extreme Makeover: Home Edition

Season 1

Season 2

Season 3

Season 4

Season 5

Season 6

Season 7

Season 8

Season 9

1. The Powers Family

The Powers had tried to make improvements to their fixer-upper home, but when youngest daughter Olivia...More

The Powers had tried to make improvements to their fixer-upper home, but when youngest daughter Olivia was diagnosed with a life-threatening form of leukemia, caring for her became a family affair and took time away from working on the house. Now cured, Olivia got through her cancer treatment with the loving support of family and friends, including a special mural in the house her mother painted that reads: ""Take one day at a timeâ€¦live, love & laughâ€¦be strong, be youâ€¦breathe.""Less

60mins 2004-02-15

2. The Woslum Family

When Trent Woslum, a sergeant in the California National Guard, was finally able to buy his family the...More

When Trent Woslum, a sergeant in the California National Guard, was finally able to buy his family their first fixer-upper home as a Christmas present in 2002, little did he know that by Valentine's Day he would have to leave the house, his wife and three sons behind to serve a tour of duty in Iraq. Unbeknownst to wife Dawna and the three sons â€” Steven, 12; Nicholas, 7; and Alex, 5, who were sent on vacation to Disneyland for seven days while the house was being transformed, Trent returned home from Iraq.Less

60mins 2004-02-22

3. The Cox Family

For years John Cox traveled worldwide to help churches and organizations. Meanwhile, to support her de...More

For years John Cox traveled worldwide to help churches and organizations. Meanwhile, to support her dedicated husband's endeavors, his wife, Wendy, quit her job as a nurse to stay at home and care for their three young daughters. When he received a permanent position as a youth minister, John was able to buy his family their very first home. Now their humble abode has received a complete renovation and been transformed into a real dream house.Less

60mins 2004-03-07

4. The Mendoza Family

When Contessa Mendoza was 17 years old and still in high school, she made the tough decision to become...More

When Contessa Mendoza was 17 years old and still in high school, she made the tough decision to become a single mom. This exceptional young lady went on to become the valedictorian of her high school graduating class and eventually earned her masters degree. Despite enormous odds, Contessa, who is a social worker, has given everything of herself to raise her daughter and two foster kids. When it was decided that the Van Nuys, California house where Contessa Mendoza and her family live needed more space, the team of designers and workmen of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition stepped in and made some dramatic changes, including adding a second story to the house.Less

60mins 2004-03-21

5. The McCrory Family

The McCrory Family is very large. They were living in a very small house. With two sons already, they ...More

The McCrory Family is very large. They were living in a very small house. With two sons already, they found out the were going to get triplets. Can EM:HE give them a bigger home for their children?Less

60mins 2004-03-28

6. The Harris Family

""Sweet Alice"" Harris is known for her kindness and watchful eye on the neighborhood. Her house went ...More

""Sweet Alice"" Harris is known for her kindness and watchful eye on the neighborhood. Her house went through some floods though and desperately needed a makeover. But, with the show title being Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, they got a great one.Less

60mins 2004-04-11

7. The Zitek Family

Robert Gil's life and his family's was changed forever when he was involved in a car accident and left...More

Robert Gil's life and his family's was changed forever when he was involved in a car accident and left paralyzed form the neck down. They had a two-story house and Robert had no way to get up there. The design team, sweet as they are, added an elevator so that he could see the rest of his house.Less

60mins 2004-04-18

8. The Hardin Family

Several years ago, when Freedman Hardin II lost track of his father, he decided to go looking for him....More

Several years ago, when Freedman Hardin II lost track of his father, he decided to go looking for him. As luck would have it, he found him on Father's Day four years ago. Freedman II had a full family and no spare space for his father to sleep, his father lived in a fifth wheel trailer outside their house.Less

60mins 2004-04-25

9. The Tugwell Family

An SUV crashes into a house. No one was hurt. John Tugwell, a former Vietnam veteran who presently w...More

An SUV crashes into a house. No one was hurt. John Tugwell, a former Vietnam veteran who presently works for the U.S. Postal Service, and his wife, Susan -- a fourth grade school teacher and avid reader who loves design and architecture from the grand style of the Italian Renaissance -- have been married for 28 years. Until the accident, their daughter, Abbey, 25, and infant granddaughter, Jamie, lived with them. Susan would love nothing more than to have her family all live together. The family was sent to Las Vegas for vacation.Less

60mins 2004-05-02

10. The Walswick Family

They live in Yorba Linda, California. There are nine children and no father. Greg Walswick died of can...More

They live in Yorba Linda, California. There are nine children and no father. Greg Walswick died of cancer a few years ago. They deserved this so much.Less

60mins 2004-05-09

11. The Powell Family

The Extreme Makeover Home Edition team provides the right medicine for a young man whose house was mak...More

The Extreme Makeover Home Edition team provides the right medicine for a young man whose house was making him sick. It wasn't easy for Carrie Powell to bring relief to her younger son, Keenan, who suffers from a rare cell disorder, asthma, as well as allergies. It was all made worse by the dust and living mold in their Arleta, California home. Doctors told Carrie that Keenan wouldn't live to see his first birthday. Determined to not give up hope, Carrie, a florist by trade, turned to her herb garden to help Keenan deal with his diseases. Keenan beat the odds and is now a strapping 16-year old who wears a size 15 shoe and stands at 6 feet tall. Keenan has been able to keep his health in check, but keeping the house hypo-allergenic for him has been a problem. So, the team of ""Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,"" in an episode airing on SUNDAY, MAY 16 (8:00-9:00 p.m., ET), made a house call. Their mission was to prescribe the right antidote for Keenan by eradicating the black mold and providiLess

60mins 2004-05-16

12. The Cadigan-Scott Family

Two parents pass away leaving eight kids behind ages 12-23. They have to share a single bathroom. The ...More

Two parents pass away leaving eight kids behind ages 12-23. They have to share a single bathroom. The older ones are left to take care of the younger ones. This is in Livermore, California. In June 2003 Diane died as a result of heart problems. Mark died 16 days later of a heart attack. Their eight kids were left to grieve a double, unbelievable loss. The two oldest siblings moved back home and took legal guardianship of their brothers and sisters, which enabled the family to stay together. Otherwise the kids would have ended up in foster care. The family - Jennifer, 23, Janice, 21, Daniel, 20, Kelly, 20, Rachel, 18, Jackie, 16, Dolly, 14 and twelve-year-old Teresa spent a week at Disney World. On the day of the ""reveal,"" over 3000 people lined the streets to cheer on the Cadigan-Scotts.Less

60mins 2004-05-23

13. The Imbriani Family

Just months after a young, divorced mother of two got involved with a blood drive, she received a call...More

Just months after a young, divorced mother of two got involved with a blood drive, she received a call that her marrow matched that of a baby girl with leukemia. At the time, Brook Imbriani had no idea how her selfless donation would impact her own family's life, as well as the life of a sick child. But Brook turned a tragic situation into triumph, and appreciation for her generosity was shown when Extreme Makeover: Home Edition literally knocked the Imbriani's neglected house to the ground and transformed it into a dream home.Less