'Good Bones' is ending after eight seasons on HGTV

After seven years and roughly 100 episodes, Mina Starsiak Hawk and Karen E. Laine are hanging up the proverbial hammer on their popular TV show, "Good Bones," which follows the daughter-mother duo as they renovate houses around Indianapolis.

Starsiak Hawk made the announcement on a Tuesday episode of her podcast, "Mina AF."

"It's the end of an era," Starsiak Hawk said, adding that production for the show had wrapped months ago. "I had to say goodbye to some people that I have spent my last, almost ten years with."

More:What to know about 'Good Bones,' the HGTV show based in Indianapolis

What began as a home renovation project in 2007 between mother and daughter blossomed into a home renovation business called "Two Chicks and a Hammer." In 2014, Laine and Starsiak Hawk were approached by HGTV to create a pilot episode that premiered in May 2015.

The show became one of HGTV's most popular shows, attracting an audience of more than 21.7 million total viewers by its seventh season in 2022, according to audience figures from Nielsen.

On her podcast, Starsiak Hawk delved into the personal hardships of having to renovate multiple homes at once under a heavy production schedule. There was stress, she said, juggling both her family and professional responsibilities while appearing on a show watched by millions.

"I think what's helpful to understand is that all our seasons have overlapped," Starsiak Hawk said. "As we start finishing the homes from one season, we're usually starting up the homes for the next season, so we never had less than, you know, five, six, seven, eight projects going on at once."

Starsiak Hawk said the show ending was both a "happy and a sad thing" and said she's looking forward to whatever chapter comes next in her life.

While "Good Bones" has remained a popular series on HGTV, the show has not been without its share of controversies.

In April 2022, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Two Chicks and a Hammer, Inc. had been fined $40,000 after the show allegedly violated a federal lead paint law.

The EPA said renovations at three Indianapolis properties — two in the Bates-Hendricks neighborhood and one in Fall Creek Place — failed to properly contain and transport lead dust and debris from homes that were built prior to 1978, when the federal government banned lead-based paint.

More:HGTV show 'Good Bones' reaches settlement for alleged violations of federal lead paint law

Residents frustrated by a lack of affordable housing in Indianapolis in recent years have lambasted the show, saying it contributes to rising property taxes that displace lower income residents who can no longer afford to live in gentrified neighborhoods.

In a previous IndyStar article, Laine defended "Good Bones" from its detractors.

“If there is vacant housing stock in a neighborhood that is being inhabited by raccoons and possums and drug dealers and prostitutes, what better thing is there to do with that vacant housing stock than rehabilitate it and put families in it?" she told IndyStar. "I can't think of a better thing."

Season 8 of "Good Bones" begins airing Tuesday, Aug. 15 at 9 p.m. Eastern on HGTV.

Columnist Opinion:HGTV's 'Good Bones' is not ruining Fountain Square

John Tufts covers evening breaking and trending news for the Indianapolis Star. Send him a news tip at JTufts@Gannett.com. IndyStar reporter Ko Lyn Cheang contributed to this report.