JESSE TYLER FERGUSON

Even before the Modern Family star wraps his role as Mitchell Pritchett on the final season of the ABC comedy, he has a new gig. Ferguson, 44, is taking over from Ty Pennington as host of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (Feb. 16), mobilizing community volunteers and inspiring the build/design teams for each renovation featured on the HGTV series.

What’s new to Extreme Makeover besides you?

I’m standing alongside three totally new designers. No one knows these very talented designers yet, but they’re going to fall in love with them. And I think people are going to be really impressed with the technology behind building energy-efficient homes.

How are you going to make the show yours?

The producers came to me because they wanted someone totally different from Ty, and they wanted someone who could bring humor as well as a human connection. It’s a tricky balance because you’re part Oprah Winfrey, part Bob the Builder.

What’s it been like filming the final season of Modern Family?

It’s a very long, slow goodbye. I’m glad that we have that. I wanted to really enjoy the last season; not only for us, but also for our fans. We hope to go out on a note that is worthy of the people who’ve been loyal to our show.

You’re also writing a cookbook based on your food blog, Julie & Jesse.

Julie Tanous is a friend of mine who went to culinary school. I enjoy cooking with her, and we started developing recipes together. We decided to put that relationship in book form. So it is somewhat based off the blog, but they’re all new recipes. I think it will be ready in spring 2021.