Nicole Curtis Claims HGTV Cut Her Series Short

Nourison HGTV host Nicole Curtis

Home restoration expert Nicole Curtis feels “vindicated” hearing from frustrated fans who think her recent return to HGTV went by way too fast. Her long-awaited spinoff series, “Rehab Addict Lake House Rescue,” aired with just three episodes in November 2022. The spinoff faced lots of speed bumps along the way, and now Curtis says HGTV is to blame for cutting the series in half despite having plenty of footage to use. She’s been urging frustrated fans to tell the network they want to see more.

‘Rehab Addict Rescue’ Spinoff Had a Bumpy Start

HGTVNicole Curtis in the Lake Orion, Michigan, cottage she finished restoring in 2022

Curtis hosted her popular “Rehab Addict” series on the former DIY Network and HGTV for nearly a decade. She then took a two-year hiatus to focus on raising her young son, Harper, over whom she’s had on-and-off custody disputes with her ex Shane Maguire. She debuted a new show with HGTV called “Rehab Addict Rescue” in 2021, fixing other people’s dilapidated homes, but realized she much prefers restoring the old homes she personally discovers and purchases.

In May 2022, HGTV announced it would debut a spinoff series in July, chronicling her efforts to restore a 1904 lakeside cottage she bought in the town where she grew up — Lake Orion, Michigan. Though HGTV didn’t announce at the time how many episodes of the series would air, the network’s similar spinoffs — like Good Bones: Risky Business and Home Town Takeover — frequently consist of six episodes.

“Rehab Addict Lake House Rescue” did not premiere on July 13 as planned; Curtis announced that day via social media that the show was not ready, and that she was overwhelmed physically and emotionally for untold reasons. Curtis took time off, flying to Paris and New York City before heading back to her hometown to finish the lake house and fight a developer proposing new construction along the lakeshore.

Curtis originally shared that HGTV had all the footage they needed, but later said she was still editing film on her laptop. Meanwhile, Departure Films is credited as the production company behind the show.

In late August, Curtis told fans her series had been rescheduled to debut on September 8. At first, HGTV confirmed the news with Heavy, but then retracted that statement hours later, saying the show had been pushed back again and did not yet have a premiere date. Eventually, HGTV announced the series would consist of three one-hour episodes, debuting on November 3. Curtis then told fans on Instagram it was actually her decision to push back the launch.

Nicole Curtis Says HGTV Has Enough Footage for Longer Series

“Rehab Addict Lake House Rescue” ran three weeks in a row, with the finale airing on November 17, but not every room or project could be shown within the time constraints of the three episodes.

When a fan asked on the following day whether Curtis gets a final say in what airs on HGTV, Curtis responded in her Instagram Stories, “Let me sit down for this — I think that’s a whole other bestselling novel. This last episode … that’s not my edit and (crying emoji) I think it shows”

Several days after the finale, on November 21, Curtis posted an Instagram photo of herself sitting atop a basement bar in the house, writing that creating the bar room “was set to be an entire episode at my lake house.”

Multiple fans complained that they felt the series had gone by too fast and that it was hard to keep track of all the renovations, especially during the interior room reveals during the finale.

One fan wrote, “It def seemed like they rushed you through the house at the end. I’m bummed it wasn’t broken into more episodes. The house (and you) deserved better.”

Another commented, “Wish there were more than 3 episodes to the new season… love you and your team’s goofy dynamic. Are there plans for another season with another old house we don’t yet know about??”

Curtis responded, “I have footage stacked ten stories high @hgtv needs to hear from you all.”

When another person said they wished they could see the bar room episode, Curtis wrote, “there’s still footage to make an episode go ask @hgtv to give it up.”

She also wrote, “True story -we had this house slated for 6-8 episodes @hgtv thought you would only watch 3.”

When a fan asked what’s next for Curtis, she replied, “go ask @hgtv.” Many people asked who they should contact, but Curtis did not provide any guidance to fans on that.

On November 22, Curtis wrote in her Instagram Stories, “Well, you guys are killing me wanting more of Lakehouse!!! I feel vindicated as I said this was a 8 episode house.”

At the time of publication, HGTV had not released any future programming plans with Curtis.