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Let me go right out and say it: I don’t like most home decor shows. Or reality competition shows. Both tend to be wallpaper TV to me; something you put on in the background to have some ambient noise while you unload the dishwasher or fold laundry. I don’t get invested. Or that interested, for that matter.
But, recently, two shows have hooked me: Nailed It (because expectations vs. reality is all too relatable — and hilarious), and now, Amy Poehler and Nick Offerman’s Making It. Both reality competition shows stand out for being refreshingly lighthearted. Neither takes itself too seriously, with the hosts continually poking fun at themselves and what’s happening around them — without making fun of the contestants themselves. They’re like the antithesis of Chopped and The Apprentice and its ilk; they’re self-aware enough to realize that hey, at the end of the day, this is a baking or crafting show. The winner isn’t solving world hunger or defusing a bomb. So let’s not make it bigger than it is and just have fun.
At the risk of sounding all earnest and special snowflake-y (I am, after all, a millennial), my favorite part of Making It was the fact that the competition took a backseat to the creativity the makers had. The pilot was the first episode I’ve ever seen of a competition show where one contestant finished early, so he ran over to another and asked if they needed help. Later, when another person cut her hand while working on a craft, host Amy Poehler jumped in to console and encourage her — then grabbed an embroidery hoop and helped her keep going.
Yes, it’s “aww shucks” cutesy, but, in a world where the easiest punchline is often the cruelest, it’s refreshing to see such radical kindness. Poehler’s gone on talk shows to say that she decided to be the show’s executive producer because there’s enough negativity in the world right now, and she wanted something people could enjoy. Something that’d celebrate the art of making things with your own two hands and being creative. Yes, there’s judging — someone on Making It will walk away $100,000 richer, after all — but it isn’t personal. It’s a perspective we could all use from time to time.
