The Lucas Family Gets Extreme Makeover Update
Since 2004, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition crew members have been making families’ lives better through comprehensive renovation projects that span seven days. While ABC initially cancelled this series in 2012 due to high viewer demand, due to overwhelming popularity the series returned in 2020 on HGTV with new teams and heartwarming stories.
As opposed to its previous run of only 10 seasons, this reboot goes beyond home makeovers by also supporting community organizations and charities through charitable giving initiatives.
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition’s design team is often called upon to assist families who appear to be struggling financially. Nominations come in from friends, neighbors, or members of their church and, thanks to Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, these families now live in homes they had only dreamed about before!
The Lucas family serves as an embodiment of the show’s charitable efforts. Composed of a Marine injured in Iraq, his wife and two children; previously living in an old, mold-infested house which made them sick; they’ve now moved into their dream home with thanks to designers for helping give them what they truly deserve.
Last week, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition’s design team put their skills to the test when they constructed a house for a Marine who lost both of his legs in combat. According to Nielsen ratings, this episode earned 1.15 ratings among adults over age 2 and 2.17 ratings among households – making the Lucas family extremely delighted about moving into their brand new home and enjoying all its amenities!
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition episodes have helped those in need due to natural disasters or medical problems. One episode that aired in 2007 saw the Extreme Makeover team build a home for Virginia National Guardsman Michael Lucas, deployed to Iraq at that time with wife Jean home-schooling their two children (via WFTV 9). Their family had combined immunodeficiency disease which required them to wear masks at home because of airborne toxins present.
The show has also provided home makeovers to families whose husbands have been killed in military service, and to a woman with an autistic child. Deseret News reports that one case saw producers buy out and transfer ownership of a family’s rental home to them, along with building home theater and backyard carousel features for Kassandra (nine).
The show has gone as far as to assist a couple who lost all four members of their family in an accident, offering comforting help after Emmy nomination for their efforts helping out a family volunteering at a free clinic in their community. Since then, they have continued helping out community members by donating food during holiday seasons as well as providing toys to children without parents.