While Flip or Flop was one of HGTV's most talked-about TV shows and a hit with viewers for years, problems arose when married hosts Tarek and Christina El Moussa divorced. The two announced their intention to continue working on the show and Christina even stated that there were reasons why their work relationship wouldn't be negatively impacted by their split, but the show seemed done for good after a short seventh season. Now, there's some very good news for fans missing the El Moussas. Flip or Flop has been picked up for an eighth season on HGTV with both Tarek and Christina El Moussa back on board.
The new season of Flip or Flop will run for 15 episodes, which is nearly twice as long as Season 7. It's no surprise that HGTV would be interested in bringing the original Flip or Flop back for another round of episodes. The original show was so successful that it launched a number of spinoffs, and the viewership for Flip or Flop is up an impressive 18% over its previous season. While part of the ratings bump is probably due to viewer curiosity about how the El Moussas would work together despite their split, there's no denying that plenty of interest remains in how Tarek and Christina flip houses.
Season 7 is actually still ongoing, with new episodes airing through September 6. The August 2 episode ranks as the top cable show in the 25-54 age demographic in the 9-9:30 p.m. time slot, which is no small feat. More than 15.2 million viewers have tuned in to the seventh season so far, and it's entirely possible that viewership will only increase once news of the renewal circulates. Who wouldn't want to tune in once they know that at least one more season is on the way?
The new season of Flip or Flop will premiere next spring. It will bring Tarek and Christina El Moussa back together for flipping houses, but HGTV viewers weren't necessarily going to lose either El Moussa even if the show hadn't gotten the surprising order for Season 8. Back in June, Christina El Moussa landed an HGTV spinoff called Christina on the Coast, with an expected premiere date of some time in the first quarter of 2019. If that timeline holds even after the renewal for more Flip or Flop, viewers could find a lot of Christina El Moussa on HGTV early next year. Although Tarek El Moussa didn't officially land a new show of his own, talks were reportedly ongoing to develop a new series for him as well.
It should definitely be interesting to see if Season 8 feels like a way for the El Moussas to wrap up the series or if it just feels like another season of Flip or Flop. If the former spouses are able to work together as well as ever, perhaps there's a long future ahead for Flip or Flop with the original hosts. Who knows? Maybe they just needed to take the time of a shortened Season 7 to adjust to their new status quo after their divorce. Only time will tell.
Tune in to HGTV on Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET for new episodes of Flip or Flop with Tarek and Christina El Moussa. For more viewing options in the not-too-distant future, swing by our fall TV guide.
