There are two types of people in this world: those who enjoy watching eight solid hours of HGTV from their bed, and liars. Because I believe in being honest, I will readily admit that I fall into the former category. I love watching couples buy their first home together, fix flowerbeds together, and the whole nine yards. I don't care if that makes me sound like a sixty five year old trapped in a twenty year old's body. I love HGTV.
I love this network SO much that I decided there needed to be some sort of ranking system. To avoid any sort of bias, I consulted practically everyone I know. My roommate, my friends, my sorority sisters, even my mom.
The shows are ranked from ten to one, ten being the worst and one being the absolute best. Granted there are more than ten shows on HGTV, but these ten are the most standout shows on the network.
10: Holmes on Homes
When I first decided to write this list, Holmes on Homes was my dead ringer for last. The show follows a gruff Canadian home inspector who is constantly yelling. Yelling about asbestos, yelling about crappy pipes, just literally yelling all the time. I'm not sure to this day why HGTV thought a show following the adventures of a cranky house inspector would make for good television.
When I Googled the show, however, I discovered that Holmes on Homes had been rebranded into Holmes Makes it Right, where Holmes uses his handy man sensibilities to fix certain problems for people that need it the most. The one episode promo I watched on Youtube was of Holmes installing a wheelchair ramp. I felt bad for giving him the tenth spot after that.
9. Island Hunters
Shows like this are part of the reasons why other countries hate America. Yeah, it's a cool thing to day dream about, one day I want to be rich enough to own my own island! But to make a reality show out of it? Maybe I'm just a bitter college student who can hardly afford fast food, but this show is just too excessive.
8. Love It or List It
Love It or List It follows a mismatched team of a real estate agent and an interior designer. Their guests on the show are people who are unsatisfied with their current home, but they can't decide if they want to stay ("love it") or sell the house and move ("list it"). The real estate agent and the interior designer each try to convince the home owner that their plan is the best plan. They usually just yell at each other the entire episode, making both the guest and the audience hella uncomfortable. This show earns the number eight spot because of the uncomfortable tension between the real estate agent and the interior designer.
7. Property Virgins
This show follows first time home buyers doing just that: buying a house. Watching twenty-something's buy their first home stresses me out because they usually have no idea what they want and also they're only like three years older than me. If I wanted to watch someone around my age have an emotional breakdown, I would just hang out at the library during finals week.
6. Ellen's Design Challenge
ELLEN! Ellen Degeneres could make a show about anything and I would endorse it. The only reason this show isn't ranked higher is because of how little of Ellen there actually is on the show. More Ellen, higher ranking.
5. Flip or Flop
Tarek and his wife Christina buy and flip beat up houses in the LA area. This show has always made me want to flip houses even though I have no idea how to renovate or sell anything. Sure, their interactions feel super scripted at times, but this show earns its number five spot simply because it's addicting. If you start an episode, you HAVE to finish it to see how it sells.
4. Fixer Upper
Ugh, Chip and Joanna Gaines. Total relationship goals. Fixer Upper follows the Gaines family as they renovate dilapidated old homes in Waco Texas. Chip does the construction work and Joanna does the creative stuff. I've always thought Chip was a little creepy, but my roommate assured me its just his dad sense of humor.
This show is number four on my list because the houses they renovate always look amazing, plus their relationship chemistry is undeniable.
3. Property Brothers
2. House Hunters
The original HGTV juggernaut. House Hunters is without a doubt one of the most binge-worthy shows HGTV has to offer. Who doesn't love watching some yuppie couple complain about the curb appeal of a house, while the realtor rolls their eyes?
1.House Hunters International
It's like House Hunters's cool, mysterious older sibling. House Hunters International follows the same premise as House Hunters, except it happens in FOREIGN COUNTRIES! As if watching a good ole house hunt wasn't enough, this show allows us to watch them hunt in countries our bank account won't allow us to visit.
