Celebrity IOU (#CelebIOU) is BACK Monday, December 14th at 9pm on HGTV, and in the premiere episode, Zooey Deschanel makes her debut by lending a hand to her boyfriend, Jonathan Scott.  Jonathan and his brother Drew produce and star on the HGTV show, and help celebrities plan a surprise home renovation for one of their loved ones in each episode.

To kick off the show’s second season, Deschanel surprises her lifelong friend Sarah, a mom of two who is studying to become a therapist, with a massive home renovation that transforms her 900-square-foot house into an open concept design. Deschanel and her friend go way back and she describes Sarah as someone who “has devoted her whole life to helping people.”

“Sarah and I met before the first day of kindergarten, because we were going to be in a carpool together,” the actor said in a statement. “From day one, everything Sarah did I thought was just the best.” As she works alongside her boyfriend and his brother to plan out a more functional space for Sarah and her growing family, Deschanel envisions statement features like a gorgeous kitchen island, built-in banquette seating with hidden storage and bold custom light fixtures. She even gets her hands dirty and helps with the demo process and realizes it’s not as fun as she thought it would be. “I just don’t think this is my thing,” Deschanel says in a preview clip from the episode as she watches her boyfriend demonstrate how to rip up countertops.

The 40-year-old wanted to at least try her hand at demo because the project was so near and dear to her heart. But in a behind-the-scenes interview, she acknowledged that she wasn’t disappointed to let her boyfriend take over for her. “The worst part for me is that it’s loud,” she said. “I love spending time with Jonathan more than anything in the world; he’s the best. But I’d rather watch him do it from afar with headphones on.”

At the end of the day, the experience was a rewarding one for Deschanel, who praised her friend for always sticking by her side. “Sarah is one of those people who I will always be there for because she’s like my sister and she has always been there for me too,” she said in a statement. “It’s so nice to have somebody that you can mutually lean upon and be there for—always. She really means a lot to me.”

This season of “Celebrity IOU” will also feature stars like Justin Hartley, Allison Janney and Rainn Wilson.

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