The Pandemic Can’t Stop ‘Military Makeover With Montel’

The COVID-19 shutdown ended early in Georgia and producers used the opportunity to shoot a socially-distanced Season 23 of the home renovation show "Military Makeover with Montel." The five-episode series will air on the Lifetime on Friday mornings at 7:30 a.m. ET starting August 21.

This season the show renovates the home of 27-year Marine Corps veteran Marcelino Marquez, his wife Francis and three children in Dacula, Georgia, an Atlanta suburb located just off the Highway 316 road to Athens.

Marquez enlisted in the USMC straight out of high school and rose to the rank of Master Gunnery Sergeant. He deployed twice to Iraq and twice to Afghanistan, serving first as an infantryman and later providing close air support as a Low Altitude Air Defense gunner.

He finished his service in mortuary affairs, working to locate, recover, identify and return the remains of Americans and allied personnel killed in action. That difficult job led to issues with post-traumatic stress.

The crew will renovate and upgrade the family's home, seen below in a "before" photo.

U.S. Naval Academy graduate Williams hosted a successful daily syndicated talk show for 17 years. Since ending the program in 2008, Williams has worked on behalf of veterans charities and the MS Foundation, an organization he founded after his own multiple sclerosis diagnosis in 1999.

Williams is excited to continue the program for another season. "In the nearly three decades since I retired from the Navy, I've never really taken the uniform off because standing up for those who are serving now and those who have served has been the greatest honor of my professional career," he said in a release.

Montel is joined by WWE Superstar Lacey Evans on site for this season. Evans is herself a Marine Corps veteran who served in the military police before launching her wrestling career. She lives in Parris Island, South Carolina.

"Military Makeover with Montel" will also air on the Armed Forces Network and be available to stream from the show's website.

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