Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
Do you want another reason to hate 2016? I have one. At the end of the year — this horrible hellfire of a year — most of Netflix’s collection of ridiculous reality TV shows will be removed from the service. The second when more than half of America will need a comforting and numbing HGTV or Food Network binge to calm its nerves, those shows won’t be there. It’s like 2016 is finding yet another way to rub salt in the wound it has caused because it’s a rebellious teenager that won’t let us have a minute of peace.
Last week it was announced that Scripps Networks Interactive, the company responsible for basically every house hunt and cook off you care about, will not be renewing its contract with the streaming service. Scripps owns HGTV, the Food Network, the Travel Channel, and DIY, so every show under those four channels will be leaving Netflix. This is an objectively terrible thing. These reality shows obsessed with paint colors and secret ingredients have been the bingeable backbone of Netflix for a long time. Sometimes you don’t want to emotionally invest in a new, heart-wrenching Marvel saga. Sometimes you just want to veg out and watch a couple decide between three houses you can’t afford. All those indecisive couples will be disappearing from your streaming life.
This news came out last week during Scripps Interactive Networks’ earnings call. According to COO Burton Jablin, “In the end, it really is not the kind of dual-revenue model that best monetizes our content over the long term.” The company’s CEO Kenneth Lowe also indicated that Scripps may have been by forgoing advertising dollars by agreeing to the Netflix deal, which may be a big reason why the company wants to cut ties with Netflix. Netflix declined to comment to Variety.
Let’s all be honest with ourselves for a second. Sometimes when a show leaves Netflix, you make an effort to track it down. When Doctor Who left, I steadfastly followed it to Prime Video. When a new FX show drops on Hulu or Netflix, I take note. When it comes to Freaks and Geeks and Undeclared, I’ve jumped between Netflix, Hulu, and Prime so many times during so many transitions, I’ve lost count. These are amazing shows with a high enough payoff that I’m willing to invest the time it takes looking for them. HGTV and the Food Network will never inspire that level of internet detective work in me, and I don’t think I’m alone in this. If Scripps’ shows leave Netflix, they’re essentially dead to me, and that makes me very sad.
You still have about a month and a half to watch every house flip, renovation project, bake off, and Iron Chef face off on Netflix, so at least there’s that. We’ll let you know as soon as we know the streaming fate of these programs. In the meantime, grab your favorite snacks and start binging while you still can.
HGTV
Extreme Homes Collection
Fixer Upper
Flip or Flop
Genevieve’s Renovation
Half Price Paradise
House Hunters Collection
House Hunters International Collection
House Hunters International Renovation
Lakefront Bargain Hunt
Love It or List It Too
Million Dollar Rooms Collections
Property Brothers
Property Brothers at Home
Small Space Big Style Collection
Tiny House Builders
Tiny House Hunters
You Live in What?
DIY
Kitchen Crashers
Man Caves
Rev Run’s Renovation
Salvage Dawgs
Texas Flip ‘N Move
Travel
Extreme Vacation Homes
Ghost Adventures Collection
Man V. Food Collection
Mega Mansions
Food Network
Ace of Cakes Collection
Chopped Collection
Cupcake Wars Collection
Cutthroat Kitchen
Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives Collection
Food Network Star Collection
The Great Food Truck Race
Guy’s Grocery Games
Iron Chef America Collection
Kids Baking Championship
Mystery Diners
Worst Cooks in America
