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kara is obsessed with "nailed it," another one of the shockingly low budget netflix game shows that it's pumping out. it's so deranged and weird that i almost can't watch it, but sometime delivers moments of tv like i've never seen before, like when one guest judge (one of the guys from super troopers?) gets a phone call, while taping, and then leaves the set to go pick up his kid from school??? and they just left it in??? it's wild

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It grates after a while, but in small doses it is kind of great?! (There's a quarantine version on Netflix Is A Joke's YouTube channel starring Pamela Adlon and Hannah Gadsby which I recommend unironically.)

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I love Nailed It! because it is so nuts and most of the contestants seem like lovely people with a good sense of humor.

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Jul 8, 2020Liked by Rafi Schwartz

Forged in Fire is a bladesmithing competition show where mostly cosplay nerds and old rednecks make swords which are then tested by an "edge weapon specialist" which usually involves him whaling on a giant hunk of meat. It may not sound like it but somehow it's incredibly wholesome and weirdly inspirational.

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Forged in Fire is the best competition show on tv. No question. Hands down. Full stop.

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Forged in Fire rules and there's also a game show spinoff (Knife or Death) which is hosted by Goldberg and is ... a lot

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That sounds AMAZING. I am here for any shows where craftspeople get to make cool shit. Netflix has a show an art glass competition, Blown Away, which I loved and I'm not even into glass as a medium generally. Just watching the technique and different approaches to the same challenge is fascinating, though. They also have a show about various restorations, The Repair Shop, which gets a bit twee and too precious at times, but it's still very cool to see the variety of objects that come in and how they get restored or refurbished.

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Blown Away bummed me out because I thought it was super interesting but then there was that one woman who kept sending out TERF dogwhistles.

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Forged in Fire is the best show I didn't know I wanted to watch.

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Jul 8, 2020Liked by Caitlin Schneider

the canadian version of the great british bakeoff aka the great canadian baking show is absolutely delightful

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INteresting

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where can I find it.....

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uhhh i had to resort to some classic filesharing techniques to find them.

went on a big kick and watched a season each of the irish, australian, and nz versions, canadian had by far the best vibes

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writing this down ty

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the irish version is by far the darkest, the judges are hypercritical lamers and all the bakers seem terrified of them, they frequently go past sunset, no real party at the end etc

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Jul 8, 2020Liked by Rafi Schwartz

Might I interest you in Letterkenny. Great fun and fantastic one liners. 54 episodes on Hulu. Here's the opening scene. You do crossfit? You can crossfuck off. https://youtu.be/9rSBmOgpcDE

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Texas sized 10-4, good buddy

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Currently blowing through the third season of the Jersey Shore (first time watch) and episodes of Triple D with a palate cleanser of the new Unsolved Mysteries. I can’t believe Snooki was considered a joke for so long, she fucking rules

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Alone, Alone, Alone. I can never get to much of Alone. Flip or Flop also fills the void in my soul and takes away the rage that the supreme court gives me on a regular basis.

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The Artic season (six I think?) is just constant broken spirits from Episode 1 onward. I can't stop, won't stop.

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Chris from Chapo Trap House just tweeted about Alone a few weeks ago, and I have since binged 4 seasons of it. It is amazing and so good

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Taskmaster - it’s a British comedy game show where comedians compete to do stupid tasks. Miraculously, full episodes are free on YouTube, no commercials. During the first few weeks of quarantine it was literally the only thing that could make me laugh.

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Pretty much any show that deals with a paternity test is my jam. I would always catch Maury on my rare off weekdays, but during lock down I got to watch every damn day. Here in Houston they show Paternity Court with Lauren Lakes right before Maury and it quickly became my favorite daytime watch.

I also love Forged in Fire. "Catastrophic Weapon Failure" is my favorite phrase in all of reality tv.

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Selling Sunset (i think its called) on Netflix. I literally never watch any reality show until this one. Its an amazing advert for 99% estate taxes and 90% income tax. But the homes/cars/ppl are pretty much all beautiful and its so stupidly scripted and ridiculous that i cant help but enjoy it.

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I’ve been rewatching real housewives of Atlanta (the best RH franchise IMO), and also ‘90s Supermarket Sweep is on Netflix, but I came here specifically to post about my new love, ULTIMATE TAG. It’s basically GUTS for adults, there are “pro taggers” with stupid and barely thought out wrestler-like gimmicks and catchphrases, and the football bros who host it say “it’s time to play some TAG!!!!” in the exact same way every time. Perfect garbage

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Tell me more about Ultimate Tag. It already sounds like a Venn diagram of my interests.

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Also, Jes, pls continue doing excellent work over at Bandcamp. Y’all are the real MVPs.

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Oh jeez thanks!! It's a joy to work with that team, let me tell you. Ultimate Tag is on Hulu. The theme song is by SALIVA, if that gives you an idea of how incredibly, deeply stupid it is. I love it so. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultimate_Tag

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Tight. Hulu, here we come!

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I suggest Love Island as the perfect show for this concept. Seasons are like 50 episodes and require zero thought at all

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Not to mention how much British slang you pick up along the way

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Mythbusters. The later seasons are on Hulu, it's perfect to just kinda half have on and look over when things blow up.

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Thanks to this post my wife and I ventured outside our normal netflix viewing routine for some "Supermarket Sweep" over breakfast this morning and lord was that a great choice.

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For all the new shows that have arisen since it started, my favorite trash TV is still The Challenge. It's got everything: dummies scheming on each other, very low stakes interpersonal drama that somehow still erupts into drunken shoving matches, and people convinced that they're competing in a pro-sport when they try to solve a puzzle with like 5 pieces.

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Gonna go ahead and start working my way through all of Rock of Love again

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To quote John Oliver "wrestling is better than the things you like."*

*....Although WWE is more problematic than ever, if that's possible. They had their own COVID outbreak, because, of course they did.

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