If you don’t know where to start when it comes to streaming services, The Watercooler is here to help. To kick off the new year, we’re running down our must-watch shows and films by platform so you can dive into the world of streaming and head straight for the good stuff. Be sure to read our first piece covering our favorites on Disney+. Next up, a whole new world of Discovery…
Discovery+
Just in time for a long winter of homebody life — and post-pandemic adventure planning — Discovery Networks is rolling out a new umbrella streaming service filled with comfort watches…and actual comfort food recipes.
Discovery+ brings together 14 popular cable networks that cover the range of nonfiction and lifestyle categories — from History Channel to HGTV, Animal Planet to Travel Channel, ID (Investigation Discovery) to OWN. It promises 1,000 hours of original content this year on top of than 2,500 episodes of existing shows, for all the cord cutters who miss their staples.
We’ve pulled together some highlights from the service for your New Year planning.
FOR YOUR NEXT MOVE…
House Hunters: Comedians on Couches Unfiltered
You thought you were alone in wondering how that couple with wildly different tastes would survive their marriage. Well now you have color commentators to re-live the most memorable episodes of House Hunters, the show that brings Zillow addiction to live-action life. Comedians from Seth Rogen to John Mulaney, Margaret Cho, JB Smoove, and Ali Wong offer their take on favorite episodes of House Hunters.
FOR YOUR NEXT CAREER…
Tarek’s Flip Side
A whole lot of people are looking for a new hustle, for the side dish of the main course of their lives. The Flip or Flop host has learned a thing or two about how to turn a profit from real estate, and he’s ready to show all of us rookie house flippers the ropes of how to buy-fix-sell for money.
Frozen in Time
Maureen McCormick (yep, Marcia from The Brady Bunch) pairs up with fellow designer Dan Vickery to make over Southern California homes frozen in the ’50s, ’60s, and the Brady Bunch era of the ’70s, giving them a modern twist while still preserving the charms of their eras. Learn how to update your own home and up its value, or get some strategies for your own flipping future.
Self Employed
Entrepreneur Jonathan Morris travels the country to share motivating stories and lessons of small business owners as they create their dream jobs and become their own bosses. Get inspired while you get some ideas for your own career reinvention.
FOR YOUR NEXT ADVENTURE…
Bobby and Giada in Italy (series)
Plot your own Eat, Flay, Love post-Covid travel adventure as you ride along with Bobby Flay and Giada De Laurentiis on their culinary trip through a pre-pandemic Italy, celebrating all the classic — and some lesser known — Italian delights. A vicarious escape watch that might just inspire your inner chef.
A Perfect Planet
Shot in 31 countries over four years, through six volcanic eruptions, each episode of this long-awaited Richard Attenborough series explores a different player’s contribution to the Earth’s delicate ecosystem: the sun, oceans, volcanoes, weather, and humans. From brown bears fishing for salmon in Russia to gibbons swinging through South East Asia’s tropical forests, it’s a love letter to our planet’s diversity that offers urgent takeaways for what we can all do — and not do — to save it.
Judi Dench’s Wild Borneo Adventure
At 84, Oscar winner, grand dame, and conservationist Dench joins naturalist David Mills on a journey deep into the rainforests and coastlines of Malaysia, bringing us close-up with sun bears, elephants, hornbills, and orangutans. We learn how the animals are helping to prevent global warming, and how scientists are helping the animals survive the timber logging for palm oil that has destroyed their habitats. An essential watch that’s also awe-inspiring and fun.
FOR YOUR NEXT MEAL…
Magnolia Table with Joanna Gaines
If you’re running out of ideas for how to make the most of lockdown life, leave it to Joanna Gaines. She takes us into her kitchen and shares her favorite recipes from all over, and elevates each dish with a story of why she returns to the recipe time and time again.
Family Dinner
Host Andrew Zimmern visits families across America to explore how their regions, cultural backgrounds, and history have shaped their family traditions and meals. Watch this one with the kids to open up new worlds and new horizons.
FOR YOUR NEXT PROJECT…
Super Dad
You’re stuck at home and trying to get the kids away from screens and outside. How about you flip your own backyard into a childhood playland? Father and DIY expert Taylor Calmus and his team show you the way to convert outdoor space into playtime fantasies. For the kids…and your inner kid.
Homegrown
How do we become more self-reliant, save money, and avoid grocery stores? Atlanta-based farmer Jamila Norman helps people turn their outdoor spaces into backyard farms and learn the thrill of “living off the land” and growing their own food.
Discovery Plus starts at $4.99 a month for the basic tier and $6.99 a month for an ad-free version.
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