It’s five seasons and done for ‘Fixer Upper’
What would make the stars of one network’s top-rated series walk away from it?
To hear Chip and Joanna Gaines tell it, it’s to “catch our breath for a moment.” The couple begins the fifth and final season of their hugely popular HGTV show “Fixer Upper” Tuesday, Nov. 21 – and while they’ll have added name value from such celebrity guests as former First Lady Laura Bush and athlete Tim Tebow during the last 19 episodes, there’s no doubt that the two spouses have “owned” every hour of the program with their rapport, repartee and renovation expertise.
Memories of the Gaineses’ original house, which helped them sell the “Fixer Upper” concept in the first place, will be woven into the concluding season to acknowledge that the end is near. While they have focused on improving homes in their hometown of Waco, Texas, their influence has extended far beyond their own locality.
Their Magnolia Market, which they reopened in 2014 after closing it to focus on their family (also one of their stated reasons for ending “Fixer Upper”) has become a destination for fans, physically and also online. The Gaineses also have operated the Magnolia Homes construction and design business and the Magnolia Realty real-estate firm, they’re marketing their wares nationwide in a new deal with Target, and they’ve written such best-selling books as “The Magnolia Story” and Chip’s recently published “Capital Gaines: The Smart Things I’ve Learned by Doing Stupid Stuff.”
“We’ve been called crazy before,” Chip writes in the latter book about bringing “Fixer Upper” to its conclusion, but a spinoff is among the projects the Gaineses have in their immediate future. “Fixer Upper: Behind the Design” – which HGTV expects to debut next spring – will hold to its title literally by showcasing the designs Joanna has created for the parent series, explaining how she has devised and executed them.