# Returning the Favor

Returning the Favor is an American reality web series that premiered on August 28, 2017 on Facebook Watch. It follows Mike Rowe as he travels across the United States in search of people who are giving back to their communities. At the end of each episode, those being profiled receive a surprise that allows them to do even more of whatever kind of good work they are doing. In July 2018, Facebook renewed the series for a fourth season which premiered on January 14, 2020. The show was canceled after four seasons in January 2021.

## Production

Rowe credits his mother as being a source of inspiration for bringing his show to Facebook. After posting a video of his parents and monitoring how many people viewed it after it was posted to his Facebook page, he realized the potential audience reach that the social media site could afford.
On July 5, 2017, it was announced that Facebook had greenlit the production. The number and length of episodes had yet to be determined at the time. The show is referred to internally by Facebook as one of their "hero shows" alongside other programs such as Ball in the Family and Strangers.
On November 27, 2017, it was reported that Facebook had renewed the show for a second season consisting of 13 episodes. Facebook's vice-president of media partnerships Nick Grudin has said that the show has worked well on the platform because Rowe is "a very engaged creator, thinking through how to participate in natural ways with the audience in order to make and develop the storyline." Between the first and second seasons, Returning the Favor released seven short videos, labeled as "Micro Editions", that ran between 6 and 7 minutes in length. Some of these mini-episodes followed up on subjects covered in the first season.
On July 25, 2018, it was announced during the Television Critics Association's annual summer press tour that Facebook had renewed the series for a third season. On November 23, 2018, it was reported that season three would premiere on November 27, 2018.
Facebook cancelled the show on January 27, 2021.

## Episodes

| Season | Episodes | Episodes | Originally released | Originally released |
| Season | Episodes | Episodes | First released | Last released |
| 1 | 10 | 10 | August 29, 2017 (2017-08-29) | October 24, 2017 (2017-10-24) |
| 2 | 24 | 24 | December 19, 2017 (2017-12-19) | August 28, 2018 (2018-08-28) |
| 3 | 23 | 23 | November 27, 2018 (2018-11-27) | August 26, 2019 (2019-08-26) |
| 4 | TBA | TBA | January 14, 2020 (2020-01-14) | TBA |

### Season 1 (2017)

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original release date |
| 1 | 1 | "Donovan Discovers" | August 29, 2017 (2017-08-29) |
| 2 | 2 | "Operation Combat Bikesaver" | August 29, 2017 (2017-08-29) |
| 3 | 3 | "Girls Build" | September 5, 2017 (2017-09-05) |
| 4 | 4 | "Raising the Roughriders" | September 12, 2017 (2017-09-12) |
| 5 | 5 | "Loving You Through It" | September 19, 2017 (2017-09-19) |
| 6 | 6 | "A Hero's Retreat" | September 26, 2017 (2017-09-26) |
| 7 | 7 | "Feeding the First Responders" | October 3, 2017 (2017-10-03) |
| 8 | 8 | "The Music Man" | October 10, 2017 (2017-10-10) |
| 9 | 9 | "Pens and Pencils All in a Rowe" | October 17, 2017 (2017-10-17) |
| 10 | 10 | "Wedding Dress Rescue" | October 24, 2017 (2017-10-24) |

### Season 2 (2017–18)

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original release date |
| 11 | 1 | "The Cop Who Saved Christmas" | December 19, 2017 (2017-12-19) |
| 12 | 2 | "Sleep in Heavenly Peace" | February 13, 2018 (2018-02-13) |
| 13 | 3 | "Against All Odds" | February 20, 2018 (2018-02-20) |
| 14 | 4 | "The Garage Of Blessings" | February 27, 2018 (2018-02-27) |
| 15 | 5 | "Alton's Toy Story" | March 6, 2018 (2018-03-06) |
| 16 | 6 | "Tough Love" | March 13, 2018 (2018-03-13) |
| 17 | 7 | "Serving Up Second Chances" | March 20, 2018 (2018-03-20) |
| 18 | 8 | "Bully Rehab" | March 27, 2018 (2018-03-27) |
| 19 | 9 | "Soldier Dogs" | April 3, 2018 (2018-04-03) |
| 20 | 10 | "Rebuilding the Big Easy" | April 10, 2018 (2018-04-10) |
| 21 | 11 | "Honoring the Brave" | April 17, 2018 (2018-04-17) |
| 22 | 12 | "Adah's Dirty Laundry" | April 24, 2018 (2018-04-24) |
| 23 | 13 | "All The Shingle Ladies" | May 1, 2018 (2018-05-01) |
| 24 | 14 | "The Girl Who Feeds The Hungry" | June 19, 2018 (2018-06-19) |
| 25 | 15 | "Grounds Of Love" | June 26, 2018 (2018-06-26) |
| 26 | 16 | "Saving Kids On The Farm" | July 3, 2018 (2018-07-03) |
| 27 | 17 | "Beauty And The Beets" | July 10, 2018 (2018-07-10) |
| 28 | 18 | "The Can Lady" | July 17, 2018 (2018-07-17) |
| 29 | 19 | "To Serve And Protect" | July 24, 2018 (2018-07-24) |
| 30 | 20 | "Veterans Helping Veterans" | July 31, 2018 (2018-07-31) |
| 31 | 21 | "Food 4 Kids" | August 7, 2018 (2018-08-07) |
| 32 | 22 | "In Memory of Ian" | August 14, 2018 (2018-08-14) |
| 33 | 23 | "An American Second Chance" | August 21, 2018 (2018-08-21) |
| 34 | 24 | "Standing with Coal Country" | August 28, 2018 (2018-08-28) |

### Season 3 (2018-19)

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original release date |
| 35 | 1 | "Saving our Veterans" | November 27, 2018 (2018-11-27) |
| 36 | 2 | "Coach Of The Year" | December 4, 2018 (2018-12-04) |
| 37 | 3 | "Raising the Youth of Detroit" | December 11, 2018 (2018-12-11) |
| 38 | 4 | "The 89-Year-Old Golfer!" | December 18, 2018 (2018-12-18) |
| 39 | 5 | "A Firefighter Christmas" | December 25, 2018 (2018-12-25) |
| 40 | 6 | "Fences for Fido" | January 1, 2019 (2019-01-01) |
| 41 | 7 | "The Weights Veterans Carry" | January 8, 2019 (2019-01-08) |
| 42 | 8 | "Fighting for the Trades" | January 15, 2019 (2019-01-15) |
| 43 | 9 | "The Bra Fairy" | January 22, 2019 (2019-01-22) |
| 44 | 10 | "Every Kid Deserves A Birthday Party" | January 29, 2019 (2019-01-29) |
| 45 | 11 | "The Mother Saving the South Side" | June 4, 2019 (2019-06-04) |
| 46 | 12 | "An 82-Year-Old Small Town Hero" | June 11, 2019 (2019-06-11) |
| 47 | 13 | "Shoes for Kids" | June 17, 2019 (2019-06-17) |
| 48 | 14 | "A Big Guy With A Big Heart" | June 24, 2019 (2019-06-24) |
| 49 | 15 | "Gold Star Mom" | July 1, 2019 (2019-07-01) |
| 50 | 16 | "Giving Back: One Man's Fight Against Homelessness" | July 8, 2019 (2019-07-08) |
| 51 | 17 | "The Firefighters Fiercest Fight" | July 15, 2019 (2019-07-15) |
| 52 | 18 | "Feeding Our Farmers" | July 22, 2019 (2019-07-22) |
| 53 | 19 | "The Snake Hunter" | July 29, 2019 (2019-07-29) |
| 54 | 20 | "A Forgotten Neighborhood Fights Back" | August 5, 2019 (2019-08-05) |
| 55 | 21 | "The NJ Woman Who Will Never Forget" | August 12, 2019 (2019-08-12) |
| 56 | 22 | "Pin-Ups for Vets" | August 19, 2019 (2019-08-19) |
| 57 | 23 | "One Soldier's Inspiration to Serve" | August 26, 2019 (2019-08-26) |

### Season 4 (2020)

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original release date |
| 58 | 1 | "A Bicycle Built For Blue" | January 14, 2020 (2020-01-14) |
| 59 | 2 | "A Correction Officer's Tough Love" | January 21, 2020 (2020-01-21) |
| 60 | 3 | "The Top Chef Delivering Joy" | January 27, 2020 (2020-01-27) |
| 61 | 4 | "The Cowboy Who Cares" | February 3, 2020 (2020-02-03) |
| 62 | 5 | "Amazing Grace and the Underdogs" | February 10, 2020 (2020-02-10) |
| 63 | 6 | "Miracles for Moms" | February 17, 2020 (2020-02-17) |
| 64 | 7 | "The Farmer Feeding the City" | February 24, 2020 (2020-02-24) |
| 65 | 8 | "The Firefighter Providing Furniture" | March 2, 2020 (2020-03-02) |
| 66 | 9 | "The Woman Changing the Foster Care System" | March 9, 2020 (2020-03-09) |
| 67 | 10 | "More Heart Than Scars" | March 16, 2020 (2020-03-16) |
| 68 | 11 | "The Drummer Helping the Trades" | September 8, 2020 (2020-09-08) |
| 69 | 12 | "Tapping for the Troops" | September 15, 2020 (2020-09-15) |
| 70 | 13 | TBA | September 22, 2020 (2020-09-22) |
| 71 | 14 | TBA | September 29, 2020 (2020-09-29) |

## Awards

In November 2017, Returning the Favor was one of five shows cited by Got Your 6, an entertainment industry-affiliated veterans organization with a Got Your 6 certification. In recognizing the series, the organization specifically cited the pilot episode, featuring a former Army engineer running a therapeutic motorcycle building program for other veterans, and episode six, which featured a quadruple amputee Army veteran who runs an outdoor retreat for other veterans suffering from injuries.