What happened to ‘Good Bones’?

Good Bones may not have been a global sensation, but for those in the know, it was one of HGTV’s most underrated shows. The reality series followed the exploits of mother/daughter duo Karen E. Laine and Mina Starsiak as they transformed and renovated properties in their native Indianapolis, with both of them specializing in a different aspect of the business.

Karen had a legal background and Mina had a real estate background, making them the perfect duo to find unsung properties and turn them into cash cows.

Good Bones was a steady ratings earner on HGTV, making it one of those shows that was on the air for a surprising (and impressive amount of time). That said, reruns can sometimes make it tough to determine if the show is still on the air. Is Good Bones still slated to return for more seasons or did it get canceled by HGTV?

‘Good Bones’ ended at the urging of Mina Starsiak

Unfortunately, Good Bones is no longer on the air. The reality show aired its series finale on October 17, 2023. The finale delved into the reasoning for why Good Bones came to an end, which was simply that flipping houses and starring on a reality show had taken its toll on the main duo. Mina Starsiak, in particular. She made it abundantly clear that she had reached a burnout point with her team and decided to call it quits on the Two Chicks and a Hammer renovation company.

Starsiak detailed her decision on an episode of her Maya AF podcast. She cited complications in the organization of Good Bones, as well as financial stress as being the two biggest factors in her desire to pull the plug. “Y’all, I’m losing it,” she told her fans. “I can’t keep doing what we’re doing, in terms of the pace and the finances of it. We need to start making a plan. We’ve been talking about what works for High Noon Entertainment and what works for us for a long time.”

Starsiak also admitted that these external factors put a strain on her relationship with her mom, Karen E. Laine. She told People Magazine that it’s difficult to run a business with a family member, especially when there’s pressure to appear positive and upbeat before the camera.

The TV star went as far as to reveal that she got into a heated argument with Laine during production of the season 8 premiere. “[We had] a knockdown drag-out [fight] during demo,” she said. “There’s a lot more contractor issues people don’t see. There’s interpersonal family dynamics that people don’t see.”

There’s still hope for a ‘Good Bones’ spinoff

Mina Starsiak and Karen E. Laine may not be churning out seasons of Good Bones anymore, but the former has teased other HGTV projects for the future. In October 2023, Starsiak posted an IG clip in which she assured fans that she wasn’t done collaborating with the network. “While we may not be filming for Good Bones as you have known it, we won’t be strangers to HGTV,” she wrote in the caption. “And we already have exciting, fun new things in the works with them!”

One of these “new things” is rumored to be Starsiak and her husband, Steve Hawk, renovating a lake house. The former discussed the project during another one of her Mina AF episodes, and made it seem as though it would be getting the full HGTV treatment:

The lake house is something Steve and I have been looking at casually for probably three years, and I want something, like — this is my new dream because all my other dreams I’ve given up on and I’m grieving them.

Mina Starsiak already went the spin-off route with the HGTV special Risky Business, so there’s a precedent for a televised special. There hasn’t been any word on a title or a proper release date for the “lake house” project (yet).

Fans wanting a full-on, Good Bones reunion between Starsiak and her mother, Karen E. Laine, are not to be getting it anytime soon. All signs point to Starsiak striking out on her own, and working with her husband instead. It’s still Good Bones in spirit, it’s just a little different in presentation!