i swear to god i use to be fun

August 8, 2016 10:42 AM

What are some good food/travel and HGTV-type home and design shows on Hulu?

We're trying out Hulu and two kinds of shows we really like are cooking shows (Good Eats, From Martha's Kitchen), travelling food shows (e.g. No Reservations, Man vs. Food) and assorted home and design shows (e.g. Property Brothers, House Hunters, etc.)

We far as shows go, we do not particularly enjoy competitive cooking shows, kids' cooking shows or those "we own a store and get waaacky orders" shows. Basically, the less Drama! the better. I think we turned off Flip or Flop about five minutes in.

Also, for the travel stuff, I used to really like Bizarre Foods because of the destination and the foods, but Andrew Zimmern being unable to go like three lines of dialogue without telling someone they're So Exotic! gets on my nerves now.

Finally, no shows about Extremely Serious Food With Extremely Serious Chefs. Netflix has enough of those for a lifetime.

posted by griphus to Media & Arts (11 answers total)

I LOVE My Kitchen Rules. It is a competitive cooking show but it's Australian and hence it's all about the food rather than the drama. The format is really enjoyable and I love the judges.

also I have no idea if it's available on Hulu.

So this was a pretty useless answer. Sorry.
posted by JenThePro at 10:47 AM on August 8, 2016

Yeah, I now "import" our Comfort Shows from the UK and Australia because the Amazulflix options all insist on having some kind of dramatic arc. Or, if they are my preferred very pretty HD format shows, weird wealth-worship stuff (I haven't braved Hulu's Green Paradise because I'm afraid it's one of those).

I have seen a few episodes of America's National Parks and it's fine, but it is missing some je ne sais quois that makes a show true Comfort Watching for me.
posted by Lyn Never at 10:53 AM on August 8, 2016

I LOVE My Kitchen Rules. It is a competitive cooking show but it's Australian and hence
it's all about the food rather than the drama.

I also LOVE MKR but I don't think its at all accurate to say its not about drama. There are plenty of engineered dramas, conflict and villains! If you read some of the things that go on back stage, its probably as fake as any reality show. It gets worse as the years go on IMO too.
posted by missmagenta at 12:00 PM on August 8, 2016

Not Hulu, but did you know that there is an INSANE amount of House Hunters on YouTube?
posted by functionequalsform at 12:54 PM on August 8, 2016

I really like Rehab Addict. I believe it's on Netflix though rather than Hulu.

As cooking competition shows go, I like Top Chef - having never seen it before, I watched a ton of back seasons recently on Hulu. They are real chefs and the competitions feel like more (or less) real food/cooking challenges with time limits rather than the "use this weird ingredient" types of challenges.
posted by vunder at 1:51 PM on August 8, 2016

I really like Fixer Upper. It's in the Property Brothers wheelhouse, but if possible even cuter and homier. Unlike Flip or Flop (which we also can't stand) it's warm and comfy and feel-good - it's about fun people who actually care renovating homes for people who need them. Plus, I find their design aesthetic really appealing.
posted by kythuen at 2:16 PM on August 8, 2016

... and ok, Fixer Upper only has clips on Hulu, not episodes. It is, however, on Netflix. Sorry!
posted by kythuen at 2:18 PM on August 8, 2016

Netflix has the Great British Baking show which is competitive but not dramatic. In fact I find it soothing.
posted by trixie119 at 2:35 PM on August 8, 2016

River Cottage is a great cooking show with gorgeous English scenery. The host is smart, dorky, and humble. He learns how to farm and asks for help, rather than making rookie errors which is a pet peeve of mine.

I also love House Hunters *International*. Totally boring-fascinating to see what homes are like in other countries!

If you want just a little bit of spooky, I watched almost all of Great British Ghosts (?) at one point (Hulu).

I also really like Country House Rescue, The Supersizers was pretty okay too.

This is what I did on maternity leave, waiting to go into labour! Still my favourite kind of tv.
posted by jrobin276 at 3:15 PM on August 8, 2016

Another vote for Fixer Upper, it used to be on Hulu- maybe it's on the paid version? It's my favorite home remodel show by far. I dream of someday having contractors as honest and nice as the Gaines*. Also their farmhouse is my absolute dream home and I enjoy drooling over it.

*if they are horrible in real life I don't want to know. And I do realize the costs are a bit off.
posted by fshgrl at 10:25 PM on August 8, 2016

The New Yorker recently featured a chef in their television show, and I think it was maybe one of the most moving, jaw dropping things I've ever seen on T.V. Just watch it:

http://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/the-new-yorkers-television-show-wolvesmouth

Don't know how many features like this they've done tho....
posted by xammerboy at 9:09 AM on August 9, 2016