Mina Starsiak Hawk Has Her Reasons for Never Returning to ‘Good Bones’

The big picture

• Mina Starsiak Hawk and Karen E. Laine's relationship became strained off-camera, leading Mina to vow to return to Good Bones.
• Bureaucratic red tape in the city of Indianapolis hampered Mina and Karen's work, contributing to the show's demise.
• The series took a toll on Mina's mental health and relationships, causing her to prioritize self-care over returning to the show.

good bones is without a doubt one of the most popular shows in HGTV history. The series followed the stars Mine Starsiak Hawk and his mother, Karen E. Laine. One of the things that viewers liked good bones it was the fact that it was directed by two women instead of a man/woman combo. The series came about after HGTV learned about Mina's company, Two Chicks and a Hammer. The series was created, developed, and premiered on HGTV in 2016. The premise focused on Mina and Karen as they remodeled several homes in Indianapolis that would otherwise go unnoticed.

When the announcement came out that the eighth season of good bones would be the last season, many were naturally saddened to hear the news. Since the news broke, Starsiak Hawk has become more candid about her good bones experience and why he has no plans to ever return to the series. There were many behind-the-scenes issues that viewers didn't know about, and it was the culmination of these various issues that led to Mina vowing never to return to the series. The series did Starsiak Hawk very well, but towards the end, the hassle became more than it was worth. good bones may be over, but that doesn't mean HGTV fans will never see the renovator return to the network.

Mina Starsiak Hawk's relationship with her mother drifts apart

While things seemed to be all sunshine and roses between the mother-daughter duo good bonesMina later shared during an interview with People that there was a lot more going on between them than met the eye. “There were certainly some challenges [moments] because my mom and I were in some of the hardest places I felt like we've ever been,” Mina said of filming the show's final season. Many reality TV networks like to embrace this kind of messy drama, but HGTV is not one of them. The only drama you see on any HGTV series revolves more around the dramatic moments of their remodels and not necessarily the interpersonal relationships.

Sure, there's tension shown, but based on what Mina shared, there's a lot of cover-up in post-production. She mentioned a huge fight she and Karen had while filming the premiere episode of the final season. “I said, 'I wonder if anyone's going to be able to tell,'” Mina shared, adding, “Of course you can't, because that's the idea. That's not what they're tuning in to watch good bones. That's not what they want.” The joy of watching good bones mainly comes from watching these two women handle intense home remodels, which can be uplifting for women looking to pursue similar dreams in this male-dominated field.

Mina and Karen's relationship has been strained for most of their lives, and Mina gave some insight into that on her podcast. Mine AF. She shared, “It's been a cumulative situation since I can remember when I had 3 things that have created the situation we're in now.” When it comes to healing those old wounds, Mina said, “It's incredibly hard to undo, especially with someone who isn't actively in therapy or actively working on themselves.” For now, the relationship between Mina and her mother, Karen, remains. strange

Mina and her mom deal with red tape on 'Good Bones'

Another major problem that both Mina and her mother faced during the series was navigating the bureaucracy of the city of Indianapolis. As a civilian, there is very little you can do to speed up any project that requires government involvement. This is precisely why people hate going to the DMV; they tend to be slow and ineffective. Slow and ineffective doesn't work for a series like HGTV good bonesi being forced to deal with the city negatively affected Mina and Karen's ability to work. In an interview with the Indiana Business Journal, Mina detailed the specific issues they faced that also contributed to the demise of good bones.

When working on remodeling in the city of Indianapolis, homeowners must follow specific rules and guidelines. However, they can request exceptions that are rejected or approved. Because of this, Mina and Karen had to ask a lot for permission from the local government and faced many rejections in return. Mina said in the IBJ interview that felt that many of his project requests were denied due to personal preferences rather than actual structural integrity. “They'll take one thing they're allowed to do and then bend you over a barrel for 10 more things,” he shared in the interview. She went on to say, “I have to go back to my architect eight or 10 or 12 times to try to get this moving target.” City officials released a statement to IBJ reiterating that everyone goes through the same process, whether they're on TV or not.

“Good Bones” had a negative effect on Mina Starsiak Hawk's mental health

Mina fans, thankfully, don't have to lose hope just yet. Mina has said she's open to doing future projects with HGTV, as long as they don't require as much time as good bones. Doing the show caused a lot of stress for Mina's family. His relationship with his mother was already complex, and soon, his relationship with his brother, Tad Starsiak, also became alienated. During an interview with Today with Hoda and JennaMina said, “I began to feel that the weight was all on me at that time – the financial weight, the weight of meeting deadlines.” She continued, “It was all very worn out for me. I was trying to find a way forward that was more sustainable for me.”

Between the money and time away from home and her own marriage and children, Mina was completely stressed and exhausted. The money spent on each episode and each project came out of the budget of Two Chicks and a Hammer, which also led to a financial strain. She said: “What was happening to me was broken. My part of the puzzle was broken.” Last season's difficulties fell mainly on the shoulders of La Mina, while everyone involved was able to enjoy more of the reshuffles eventually contributed to the series finale.

Mina is open to future opportunities with HGTV, but “Good Bones” will never return

while good bones is officially dead and gone, future HGTV projects featuring Mina are not. She said she is totally open to doing other projects with the network as long as they are within reason and her personal boundaries. She said: “I think it would be a very bad decision for me mentally and emotionally, let alone financially, to go back to this place.” Someone even released a series with a similar model good bones, But he said any kind of restart would be unlikely. “Trying to figure out what show could be made that fits where I'm at in my life right now, with also what's going to be rated, what's reasonably affordable to do is very much up in the air,” he said.

Mina said so too no amount of money could bring her back to the series as it became too difficult for her physical and mental health. She shared, “There's not enough money in the world to put me where I was a year ago. It was that bad.” He went on to say, “There's no realistic amount of money that I think is worth fighting as hard as I did. And I think that's really hard for people to understand: how I was in a really bad place.” Fortunately, Mina is doing much better, and while her fans wait for a new project to emerge, they still have her podcast.

good bones is available to stream on Max in the US

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