HGTV Melissa McCarthy and Jenna Perusich star in “The Great Giveback.”
It is a family affair for Melissa McCarthy and Jenna Perusich on “The Great Giveback.” The cousins stopped by “Today with Hoda & Jenna” to discuss their upcoming HGTV series.
Hosts Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager asked about working with family. The “Bridesmaids” actress explained, “I think we’re a lot for people. We’re kind of the same human and [husband] Ben [Falcone] often is like, ‘That’s just too much.’”
Perusich explained that they are both “design-obsessed” and together often offer unsolicited decorating advice in other people’s homes. She quipped, “That couch should not be here and why do you have 20 clocks?”
McCarthy and Perusich are now taking their shared passion to the small screen in “The Great Giveback with Melissa McCarthy and Jenna Perusich.” The HGTV series will see the duo renovate the homes of deserving families.
The actresses “will learn the heartwarming stories of exceptional people nominated by their loved ones,” HGTV announced in a press release. “Then, propelled by the inspiring accounts, the self-proclaimed design and vintage fanatics will grab sledgehammers, select personalized finishes, and demo and reno alongside their expert team to stun recipients with dazzling, life-changing reveals.”
“There’s so much negativity and there’s so much anger in the world and we just wanted, we wanted to show that like kindness is incredibly powerful and it’s everywhere,” McCarthy said on the morning show. “It’s just quieter, so we just wanted to shine the light on it and give them the microphone. They give and they give, so we’re like let’s give back.”
The Cousins Grew Closer After Perusich Moved to Los Angeles
It was not until Perusich moved to Los Angeles after college that she and McCarthy became stuck like “super glue,” they explained to Kotb and Bush Hager.
“I forget she’s like incredibly, like much, much much younger,” McCarthy explained on “Today.” Motioning to Perusich, she continued, “I’m always like, ‘You know, like our age.’ And someone’s like, ‘Oof, don’t.’ But, it wasn’t until she graduated college – of course, we were at family things together – that she came out to LA.”
“And literally, don’t you think,” she said turning to Perusich, “it was like the second she came, ‘Oh, and we shall never be apart again.’”
Perusich chimed in, “We like expected it to be like, ‘Yeah, we’ll get like lunch. See each other sometimes’ and it was like, ‘Okay, so.’”
McCarthy & Perusich First Teamed up on ‘Celebrity IOU’
“The Great Giveback with Melissa McCarthy and Jenna Perusich” is the second time the cousins will team up on HGTV. They partnered with Drew and Jonathan Scott on “Celebrity IOU” to renovate the home of Perusich’s parents.
“When you change someone’s home – we really experienced this with my parents – yes, it’s a beautiful makeover and it’s new stuff, but it has the potential to change how they live every single day,” Perusich told the hosts.
“It changes how they can interact with their family, who they can have over,” the “Gilmore Girls” alum explained. She continued, “It’s so often people like your parents – career police officers – that just give everything out. When they get home, they don’t have that soft, kind of place to land. You need to recharge those batteries because you wake up and you give it all away again. It’s like you need a place to feel safe and happy and special.”
“The Great Giveback with Melissa McCarthy and Jenna Perusich” premieres on Monday, June 13, 2022, at 9 p.m. Eastern and Pacific times. It will also be available to stream on discovery+.
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