Honestly, if you turned on HGTV at any point in the last decade, you’ve seen them. The big guy in the beard and the petite blonde with the pixie cut. Ben and Erin Napier didn’t just wander onto a film set; they basically dragged the entire town of Laurel, Mississippi, into the living rooms of millions.
But here’s the thing. Most people think they just have that one show where they fix up old Victorian houses with "good bones."
They don't.
The reality of Erin Napier TV shows is a lot more sprawling—and a lot more chaotic—than just picking out paint colors for a craftsman cottage. By 2026, the "Home Town" universe has grown into a massive franchise that includes high-stakes town takeovers, a workshop series, and a brand-new hotel renovation show that almost didn't happen because of a literal fire.
The Show That Started It All: Home Town
It’s been ten years. Can you believe that? Home Town premiered back in 2016, and as of January 2026, it’s officially entered its 10th season.
The formula seems simple. Ben builds something out of reclaimed wood in his shop. Erin draws a beautiful watercolor of what the house could be. They find a family, they find a budget, and they make magic happen. But if you look closer, the show has shifted.
In the newest episodes for 2026, they aren’t just doing random houses. They’re getting personal. This season, they took on a massive overhaul of a maternity ward at the local Laurel hospital. They also renovated a house for Ben’s brother, Jesse, which felt way more emotional than your standard "client of the week" episode.
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One thing people get wrong? They think the Napiers are just actors. They aren't. Erin was a wedding stationery designer (her old business was called Lucky Luxe) and Ben was a youth minister before a producer found them on Instagram. That "authentic" vibe isn't a brand; it's just who they were before the cameras showed up.
When Laurel Wasn't Enough: The Spinoffs
Once Home Town became a juggernaut, HGTV did what every network does: they expanded.
Home Town Takeover
This is the "big" one. Instead of one house, they try to save an entire town.
- Season 1: Wetumpka, Alabama.
- Season 2: Fort Morgan, Colorado.
- Season 3: Sebring, Florida.
Home Town Takeover is basically renovation on steroids. Erin usually teams up with other HGTV heavyweights—we've seen Dave and Jenny Marrs from Fixer to Fabulous and even Ty Pennington get in on the action. It’s about "revitalizing" the spirit of a place, which usually involves a lot of mural painting and fixing up local theaters.
Home Town Kickstart
Think of this as the "lite" version of Takeover. It only ran for a bit, but it sent different HGTV stars (like Jasmine Roth and Nate Berkus) to six small towns across the country. Ben and Erin acted more like the "mentors" here, guiding the projects from afar rather than doing the heavy lifting themselves.
The "Inn" Disaster: Home Town: Inn This Together
This is the one everyone is talking about in 2026.
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For a while, fans weren't sure if Home Town: Inn This Together would ever see the light of day. The premise was ambitious: Ben and Erin, along with their best friends Jim and Mallorie Rasberry, bought a massive 1930s Kress building in downtown Laurel to turn it into "The Heirloom" hotel.
Then, the unthinkable happened.
A devastating fire broke out at the building in August 2025, just as things were nearing completion. Erin posted on Instagram that it felt "like a funeral." Most of us thought the show was dead.
But Ben confirmed recently that the episodes will air later in 2026. It’s going to be a different kind of show. Less "look at this pretty tile" and more "how do we recover from a total loss?" It’s gritty. It’s raw. It might be the most "human" thing they’ve ever filmed.
Why Do We Keep Watching?
People always ask why the Erin Napier TV shows stay so popular when other design shows fizzle out after three seasons.
It’s the "anti-glamour" of it all.
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Erin isn't afraid to show the messy parts of her life. She’s been open about her childhood struggles with bullying and her preference for "heirloom" rooms over sterile, modern designs. She recently released a book called Heirloom Rooms that basically tells people to stop trying to make their houses look like museums. She wants to see the piles of books and the scratched floors.
Also, the "Ben and Erin" dynamic is freakishly consistent. They’ve been married 17 years now. Ben says the hardest part of working together is that they’re together 24/7, so they can’t surprise each other with anything. Honestly? That’s a "problem" most couples would kill for.
What You Should Do Next
If you're looking to dive into the world of Laurel, don't just stick to the TV.
- Watch Season 10 of Home Town: It premiered January 4, 2026. The two-part season opener is the largest renovation they've ever done in Laurel—a historic home owned by the same person for 50 years.
- Look for "Inn This Together": Keep an eye on the HGTV schedule for later this year. The fire footage and the subsequent rebuild are going to be a masterclass in resilience.
- Read "Make Something Good Today": If you want to understand why they do what they do, read their memoir. It explains the "why" behind the "what."
The Napiers have proved that you don't need a big city to have a big life. They’re just two kids from Mississippi who happened to turn their love for old houses into a literal empire. And if the 2026 ratings are any indication, we aren't tired of watching them yet.
Actionable Insight: If you're planning a renovation, take a page from Erin's book: don't gut the history. Use the "Home Town" method of identifying one "hero" feature in a room—like an original fireplace or a weird window—and build the entire design around that one piece of soul.
Source Reference Checklist:
- Home Town Season 10 Premiere: Jan 4, 2026 (confirmed via WBD Press).
- Home Town: Inn This Together update: Confirmed for late 2026 release after Heirloom hotel fire.
- Books: Make Something Good Today, The Lantern House, Heirloom Rooms.
- Business: Laurel Mercantile Co. and Scotsman General Store.