Mom star Allison Janney joined Property Brothers stars Drew Scott and Jonathan Scott for the next new episode of their latest hit HGTV series, Celebrity IOU. In the new episode, airing Monday, Dec. 21 at 9 p.m. ET, Janney and the Scott brothers help out Janney’s assistant Ilana by renovating her home. In an exclusive preview for PopCulture, Janney shows up to the renovation in an elegant red dress, but still ready to “bust up some s—.”
The Scott brothers were totally shocked by the floor-length, backless gown. Janney at least wore tough construction boots. “Of course I do gentleman, I’m not a total idiot,” Janney said as she showed off the stylish footwear. The Oscar-winning actress then continued breaking apart Ilana’s kitchen. “Who’s making martinis?” she asked at the end.
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Janney and Ilana have been friends for over 20 years and are more like family. Ilana and her husband love entertaining and cooking, but their kitchen is cramped and not the best for hosting. So, Janney decided to help her close friend by enlisting the Scott brothers to renovate Ilana’s kitchen, dining room, and living area to design a “stylish and functional gathering space.” Ilana’s renovated home now has an oversized kitchen island, custom refrigerated wine cabinet, and a stone fireplace.
“She has become more like family to me than anything else and she’s given a lot to me over the years,” Janney said of Ilana. “I feel like this is a wonderful opportunity for me to do something lovely for her. She’s just a giver and it’s hard to make her receive.” She later said it “feels right” to help Ilana in this way. “It feels really good to give to someone like her who’s been there for me in ways I would have never expected.”
Celebrity IOU launched last year and featured Brad Pitt, Rebel Wilson, Viola Davis and Melissa McCarthy. Season 2 featured Zooey Deschanel in its premiere. Justin Hartley and Rainn Wilson also signed on for episodes.
In a recent interview with PopCulture, Drew and Jonathan said the celebrity they would love to see most on the show is Queen Elizabeth II, although that does seem a little difficult to pull off. “I want to see her throw a sledgehammer,” Jonathan said. More seriously though, he said the twins are in talks with “a lot of incredible celebrities” for future episodes. Unfortunately, the pandemic has made it difficult to book stars. Drew said he would love to see former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama on the show.
“It’ll be interesting to see in future seasons, too, some of the folks who are huge, huge, worldwide celebrities who want to do it,” Jonathan said. “It’s only COVID that’s really preventing us from being able to say yes to them. They already are on board.”
