Extreme Makeover

Extreme Makeover is a television program from ABC in which individuals volunteer to receive an extensive makeover in Hollywood. It began airing in 2002 on Thursday nights at 8pm. Borrowing heavily from the reality television genre, the show depicts real-life people (both men and women) undergoing an "extreme makeover" involving plastic surgery, exercise regimes, hairdressing and wardrobing. Each episode ends with the subjects' return to their families and friends, showing the reactions of their loved ones, who have not been allowed to see the incremental changes during the subjects' absence. Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, which debuted in 2003, is a spinoff of Extreme Makeover. Ironically, the home edition eventually became more successful than the plastic surgery edition. Extreme Makeover: Wedding Edition was also a spinoff but was a one-time special due to low ratings. It was scheduled to return to the ABC lineup on Thursday, August 3, 2006, but repeats of Grey's Anatomy instead filled the hour. The show will now return on October 20, 2006, and play on Friday nights.