ABC Cancels EXTREME MAKEOVER: HOME EDITION

ABC has cancelled its Emmy award winning reality series EXTREME MAKEOVER: HOME EDITION.  The heart-tugging original feel-good series concludes its 9th and final season on ABC with two episodes in January 2012, including its biggest-ever build - the 200th episode, in which the team builds 7 homes in 7 days for tornado victims in Joplin, Missouri. The final two regularly scheduled episodes, "Gibbs Family" and "Joplin, Missouri," will air January 6 and January 13, respectively (8:00-10:00 p.m., ET), on the ABC Television Network. "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" will continue on ABC with specials after this season.

During its run, the quintessential feel-good reality show transformed the lives of thousands of deserving families and galvanized communities and businesses to help their neighbors in need. "EM:HE" also put a spotlight on causes that touched these families, ranging from the treatment of serious illnesses or accident victims and the importance of foster care and adoption, to helping veterans struggling with post-traumatic stress and the plight of the homeless, to campaigning against texting while driving and building coalitions to end bullying. Celebrities including First Lady Michelle Obama, Elton John, Robin Williams, Justin Bieber, Katy Perry, Keith Urban, Mariah Carey, Glenn Close, Tyler Perry, Mary J Blige, Carrie Underwood, David Duchovny, Kobe Bryant, Magic Johnson, Usher, KISS, Rihanna, Jessica Alba and Derek Jeter are among the many who "got on the bus" over the years to join the show. In addition, the series won multiple Emmys for Outstanding Reality Program, received six Emmy nominations, won two People's Choice Awards and an NAACP Image Award, as well as many additional honors.

The final two episodes are:

"Gibbs Family" -- On Friday, January 6 (8:00-10:00 p.m., ET), "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" travels to Fayette County, Iowa to surprise the Gibbs family, and musician Bret Michaels appears in this episode. Audrey Gibbs is a mother, a widow, a farm owner and a maternal optimist who won't let anything stop her from raising her six children, not even her blindness and her battle with a potentially fatal condition. Seven months after her husband died, Audrey had a brain aneurism that affected a quarter of her brain - leaving her legally blind. The doctors cannot say if she is going to lose her sight completely or even if she is going to live or die. Audrey has always been pragmatic and has no time for self-pity. She is passionately committed to doing whatever it takes to raise her kids. Realizing she could not continue working as a cosmetologist, she decided to attend massage therapy classes, as she knew it was a career she could still practice after losing her sight. However, Audrey does worry about what will happen to her kids, should the worst happen. The Gibbs family own and live on a farm which they rent portions of to local farmers for additional income. Their farmhouse is in need of significant repair, with no working toilet, a ceiling that's caving in and a layout that doesn't work for the family at all- especially for Audrey, if she loses her eyesight completely. The "EM:HE" design team has just seven days to build a brand new home for the Gibbs. The family has been whisked away on a dream vacation to Boca Raton Resort & Club, a Waldorf Astoria Resort, while "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" team leader Ty Pennington, designers Paul DiMeo, Tracy Hutson, Sabrina Soto, Jeff Dye and local builders Larson Construction Company, Inc., as well as community volunteers, build the structure. This episode will air Friday, January 6 (8:00-10:00 p.m. ET) on the ABC Television Network.

"Joplin, Missouri" -- In October 2011, "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" traveled to tornado-ravaged Joplin, Missouri, to celebrate its 200th episode in historic fashion. The show surprised an unprecedented 7 families with the door knock that changes lives, and the "EM:HE" design team and a volunteer "army" of 13,000 people, along with the builders, will create 7 beautiful homes in just 7 days. In addition, they refurbished a local park, created a new playground and a poignant memorial site to those volunteers who came to the aid of others during and after the tornado. Celebrities who got involved with this episode include LA Laker Kobe Bryant, Kansas City Chiefs' matt Cassel and Clark Hunt, as well as "Good Morning America's" Sam Champion. This episode will air Friday, January 13, (8:00-10:00 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network.

On May 22, 2011, a catastrophic tornado ravaged the town of Joplin, killing approximately 160 people and destroying nearly 8,000 houses. This will be the biggest build ever for "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" - 7 homes will be built for 7 deserving families. Some of the Joplin families lost friends, some lost children, and all lost their homes.

The parents and children from all 7 of the Joplin families were whisked away on a dream vacation to Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida, while "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" team leader Ty Pennington, designers Paul DiMeo, Paige Hemmis, Michael Moloney and Tracy Hutson, along with Sam Clifton from Millstone Custom Homes, who is lead builder for 21 builders, and approximately 13,000 Volunteers and community volunteers build the structures and work on the local park. These are the stories of the seven families:

The Howard Family
Kyle, the father and a Joplin fireman, was at work at the fire station during the storm and spent the first two hours after the tornado not knowing if his wife and kids had made it out alive. He made many stops along the way home, through the rubble, rescuing trapped victims and tending to injured members of the community. Meanwhile Jill and their children, Konnor, Korbin and Kaleb, huddled in a closet. A door landed on top of them, which they used to deflect the debris. This ultimately saved their lives. After the storm, they had no idea if Kyle was alive, but eventually the family, along with older son Keenan, who was out of town at the time, was reunited. Jill sustained minor injuries, but their home was completely destroyed.