"Surprise Homecoming" Review: Get Those Tissues Ready!
There seem to be way too many reality shows on TV these days. Some of them just make your head hurt the concept is so crazy.
And then one comes along that celebrates true American heroes and family love all in one hour…
That show is “Surprise Homecoming” hosted by Billy Ray Cyrus. But I must warn you. Before you tune in, you’d better make sure you’ve got tissues handy. You will definitely need them.
The show reunites soldiers with their families in carefully orchestrated surprises. In the premiere, a mother is reunited with her two sons, a mother is reunited with her daughter and Cyrus personally helps reunite a soldier with his wife and son, who he has never met.
I admit, I’ve been known to tear up at beer commercials featuring soldier homecomings, so it’s no surprise this hour had me tearing up more than once. There’s just something about seeing these men and women fighting for our country alive and well and reuniting with their families that just pulls on every heartstring I have. And the fact that we get to see the surprise on the faces of their loved ones just makes it that much more fun.
And maybe I’m a little prejudiced, but I’m not sure the show could have found a better host in Cyrus. His homespun Kentucky/Tennessee charm is just perfect for narrating the stories. In the homecoming he’s personally involved in, he totally charms the military wives as he bakes cookies with them and learns their personal stories. You can’t help but get sucked in.
If you want to escape some of the other reality muck that’s on TV this summer and find something a little more family-friendly and heartwarming, this is it. And if you’re a Billy Ray Cyrus fan, you’ll see him in his best role yet. I’m not sure why someone didn’t think of it for him earlier…
“Surprise Homecoming” premieres Monday, July 11th at 10 p.m. on TLC. If you miss it, there’s an encore Tuesday, July 12th at 8 p.m…
Photo Credit: TLC
