Shhh…don’t tell anyone. I am a total competition show addict. I can be drawn into the regular network fare, (think: The Voice, Survivor, Top Chef) and most anything cooking related (although I don’t cook) like Chopped, Kid’s Baking Championship, and Tournament of Champions. But the shows I love best are the quirky off-channel series that come up from time to time on Netflix or some obscure network.
I particularly love art-related competitions. A recent favorite was The Great Pottery Throw Down. I loved learning about the variety of pottery techniques and watching pottery artists realize their visions with clay. I enjoy learning to critique each work and match my decisions about the quality of the works against those of the judges. I love the way these shows help you get to know the artists, learning a bit about their lives and their skills. Have you seen Blown Away? I’ve learned so much about glass blowing and have become fascinated with the interplay of heat and breath that goes into creating these delicate works of art.
I can watch tattoo competitions, make up artists at work, up and coming fashion designers, aspiring models, interior designers… You can see, I’m not overly choosy about indulging in my guilty pleasure. And right now, while I should be writing those report cards that are due later this week, I just watched the first episode of The Exhibit: Finding the Next Great Artist, a show my son (who is an artist and knows how much I love competition shows, especially of the art variety) recommended.
What is your guilty pleasure? And if you have a recommendation of a quirky, wonderful competition show, please share!
Thinking Through My Lens 
My favorites are definitely Top Chef and Survivor, but a former student of mine competed on the chainsaw art show “A Cut Above” and it was pretty good. If you can find the reruns of Kid Nation from 2007, you might be equally riveted and appalled. I’ll let you decide for yourself.
Competition shows are so fun! My guilty pleasure is watching makeup tutorials on YouTube!
How fun that you just like to watch competition shows! I had no idea there was one titled, Great Pottery Throw Down. I just went to my first pottery class so I plan on catching that one! I’m not into competition shows but you’ve got me thinking about what my guilty pleasure is!
I love knowing this about you! My daughters love the Great British Baking Show (is that the right name?) and talk about it a lot. We haven’t had a TV in our home for more than a decade, and I don’t stream shows at all. I know I’m probably missing out on things, but I really don’t miss it. I am totally out of the loop culturally, and miss many allusions/references. I did sign up for an intro glass blowing class recently though 🙂
Oooh! I can’t wait to hear about your experiences with glass blowing. I’m aching to learn how to throw on a potter’s wheel…might need to indulge in less of that TV watching to make more time for the pottery!