Ranker’s Top 5 Discovery Channel Shows of All Time
NOTE: Readers are still voting on this list all the time, and the ranking changes frequently. Changes in the list ranking may not immediately be reflected in this blog.
Decades after the first reality TV boom in the early 2000s, when shows like Survivor, The Bachelor, and The Amazing Race first began to capture the attention of audiences in a pre-streaming world, reality is still a major part of modern TV culture. While Peacock and Paramount+ make mainstay franchises like The Real Housewives and RuPaul’s Drag Race available to stream, Netflix and HBO Max are both vying for the attention of reality fans with outlandish original titles like Sexy Beasts and F-Boy Island. Clearly, there is an appetite among cord-cutters for reality content. That means Discovery+, the Discovery Channel’s exclusive streaming service, has a real opportunity to steal market share from less reality-focused platforms.
Discovery+’s pitch to the streaming public has to emphasize just how many reality TV brands the service has under its umbrella: beyond Discovery Channel, Discovery+ owns content from TLC, The Food Network, Animal Planet, HGTV, true crime-oriented Investigation Discovery, and more. We used Ranker data to take a look at the five most popular shows ever to air on the Discovery Channel, according to this Ranker list with 5.5K votes, and recommend new content from other Discovery brands to fans of those shows. Reality fans may be surprised by exactly how much bang they’d be getting for their buck with a monthly subscription to this service.
Photo: Discovery+
#1: Mythbusters
This science entertainment series ended its 15-year run in 2018, but it’s still a hugely popular series beloved by a majority of Ranker TV fans in every region of the US. To sweeten the deal for those looking for access to every episode of MythBusters, Discovery+ could target these consumers with ads reminding them of other TV shows in the platform’s catalog that Ranker Insights says they’re statistically more likely to love:
River Monsters (Animal Planet): Insights tells us that fans of MythBusters are 9X more likely than the average TV fan to also enjoy the Animal Planet staple River Monsters, which follows an angler who tracks carnivorous freshwater fish.
Man vs. Food (Cooking Channel): Insights says those who love to see popular urban myths and movie tropes put to the test also enjoy watching Man v. Food host Casey Webb take on eating challenges at restaurants across the country.
Deadliest Catch (Discovery Channel): Another one of Discovery’s biggest reality TV hits, the crab fishing series Deadliest Catch is 5X more likely to be beloved by MythBusters fans than by the average TV viewer.
Photo: Discovery+
#2: How It’s Made
A reality/documentary series that satisfies our burning curiosities about how everything from lipstick to stretch limousines are made, How It’s Made has a significant base of fans who can now binge their favorite show on Discovery+. Here’s what else on the streaming service is likely to draw fans of this show:
Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown (Travel Channel): With interest in the late, great Anthony Bourdain spiking again thanks to the recent release of the documentary Roadrunner, there’s likely going to be even higher streaming demand for his critically acclaimed Travel Channel show Parts Unknown. Insights says that those searching for Parts Unknown are 9X more likely to be How It’s Made fans.
Untold Stories of the ER (TLC): Untold Stories of the ER mixes medical drama with the immediacy and thrill of reality TV, and as an edutainment show that takes viewers behind the curtain, it’s a great companion to How It’s Made. No wonder fans of one show are 6X more likely to also be fans of the other.
Extreme Engineerings (Discovery): Showcasing all manner of different construction projects, from recently completed feats of architecture to big ideas that may never actually be erected, Extreme Engineering demonstrates both the art and science that go into engineering. Fans of this Discovery show are 3X more likely to also love How It’s Made.
Photo: Discovery+
#3: BattleBots
BattleBots pits robots designed for combat against one another in an arena. It’s a premise so strangely intriguing that it’s been successfully broadcast by multiple different networks, from Comedy Central in its earliest days, to ABC in 2015, to the Discovery Channel. Discovery+ features not just episodes of the original show, but also an original spinoff called BattleBots: Bounty Hunter. Here are some Discovery+ shows that BattleBots fans are more likely to be looking for:
The Great Food Truck Race (Food Network): This show that features food entrepreneurs racing each other to sell their fare at different destinations across the country is an underrated Food Network gem. While racing food trucks and battling robots may be different kinds of machinery-based competitions, BattleBots fans are still 5X more likely to love The Great Food Truck Race.
Survivorman (Discovery): The one-man camera crew, producer, host, and survivalist Les Stroud captured the imagination and attention of cable viewers for 10 years. Today, all seven seasons of Stroud’s show Survivorman can be binge-watched on Discovery+, a fact that is 6X more likely to excite fans of BattleBots.
America’s Worst Driver (Travel Channel): If you don’t remember America’s Worst Driver, let us remind you of its premise: eight terrible drivers, nominated by friends and family members, are enrolled in driver’s education classes. Those drivers compete to see who has improved the most, all of them hoping to avoid being named the worst driver in America — an unlucky contestant whose car is destroyed at the end of the show. Though this hilarious reality series aired for only one season, BattleBots fans are 5X more likely than the average TV viewer to remember it fondly.
Photo: Discovery+
#4: Dirty Jobs
Mike Rowe has earned a reputation as a hardworking, humble guy (just check out his #8 ranking on our list of Celebrities Who Should Run For President if you don’t believe us), thanks to his role as host on Dirty Jobs, where he tries to do every form of dirty or difficult work he can, from maggot farming to roadkill collecting. Rowe’s fans can check out every dirty job he’s done on Discovery+, but they’ll likely also want to check out these other reality shows on the platform:
90 Day Fiancé (TLC): The cringe-inducing romance reality show 90 Day Fiancé features cross-continental couples hoping to make their relationships work long enough to earn marriage visas. Those who love to watch these romantic partners struggle to clear language and legal barriers are also 7X more likely to enjoy seeing Mike Rowe struggle to learn the finer points of cranberry farming.
Animal Cops: Houston (Animal Planet): The reality franchise Animal Cops brought new emotional stakes to the reality police drama genre, pitting rescuers against the clock as they race to save animals from abusive or neglectful owners. The spinoff of the original series centered in Houston is particularly appealing to fans of Dirty Jobs, as those who vote up one show on our list of The Best Reality TV Shows Ever (143K votes) are 4X more likely to vote up the other.
Fixer-Upper (HGTV): This quintessential “flipper” show follows Chip and Joanna Gaines as they turn dilapidated homes across Texas into impressive, valuable properties that benefit their surrounding communities. Ranker Insights says those who vote up Dirty Jobs on our Best Reality TV Shows Ever list are 3X more likely to also vote up Fixer-Upper on the same list.
Photo: Discovery+
