After a successful preview on Discovery+ in 2021, Chip and Joanna Gaines’ Magnolia Network officially launched on linear TV, replacing the DIY Network in cable packages beginning January 5th. The non-fiction network is home to both new and previously existing programs in the home, culinary, garden, and lifestyle spaces, with exciting originals airing alongside fan-favorite shows and classic episodes of series like The French Chef and This Old House.
If you’re here, you’re probably wondering what’s worth watching. Lucky for you, we’ve combed through the shows currently airing on the cable channel and streaming on Discovery+ to nail down which programs are most worthy of your time. These are the best shows on Magnolia Network.
Fixer Upper: Welcome Home
Category: Home renovation, Home design
Status: Magnolia Network Original
All five seasons of Fixer Upper are available to stream in the Magnolia Network hub on Discovery+, but if you’ve already seen every episode of the show that single-handedly revived shiplap, the next best thing is this new version of the popular home renovation series. Just like the original, Fixer Upper: Welcome Home merges Joanna’s effortless and always evolving style with Chip’s renovation skills and goofy shenanigans to create a welcoming environment you’ll never want to leave. The only real differences are that the married duo are calling all the shots and the homes and buildings being renovated have already been purchased, so there’s no need to do the realtor thing. This allows episodes to focus more on the process of rebuilding and telling personal stories. It also means episodes about passion projects accompany the series’ more traditional home renovations. The magic of the original series is still present, there’s just a little more heart and personal connection to everything.
Inn the Works
Category: Renovation, Reality
Status: Magnolia Network Original
Renovation shows are popular but they’re also quickly becoming a dime a dozen these days as networks attempt to cash in on interest. To break through the glut of available programming today shows need to have hosts with personality, so it’s a good thing Inn the Works has it in spades. The show follows designer Lindsey Kurowski and her three siblings—none of whom have any professional experience in this line of work—as they renovate and restore old hotels. The show successfully merges the satisfaction of the home renovation genre with the addictive nature of reality TV, as each episode chronicles a different project and we get to know the people involved. The six-episode first season follows the siblings’ efforts to bring Lindsey’s vision for the historic Oak Knoll Lodge in Big Bear, California, to life. The second, which features eight episodes, follows their efforts to revitalize a time-warped inn located near where they grew up in the Berkshires of Massachusetts. Somewhere along the way you’ll find that you’re not just watching the show to see how each reno project turns out, but what the family (their mom, dad, and grandmother all make appearances as well) is up to at any given time.
Beachfront Bargain Hunt: Renovation
Category: Home buying, Home renovation
Status: Existing series
Whoever decided to merge the jealousy-inducing beach home-buying genre with the popular home renovation genre to create the satisfying Beachfront Bargain Hunt: Renovation deserves a raise. It’s truly the best of both worlds. The first half of each episode follows subjects as they tour properties at or near the beach that are affordable (a relative term, to be sure) because they are in need of either a little or a lot of fixing up. The second half of the hour follows them through that renovation journey. You never really know what you’re going to get from one episode to the next, because most of the time the subjects do at least a little of the demolition or renovation work themselves, which saves money but creates environments ripe for mistakes. There are also blatantly obvious product placement tie-ins that will make you roll your eyes as couples sit outside and scroll through a tablet you know they can’t actually see because those things are awful in direct sunlight, but it won’t take away from the overall experience of watching each home come together.
Family Dinner
Category: Culinary, Culture
Status: Magnolia Network Original
Culinary-themed programming has undergone a much-welcomed transformation over the years. No longer are celebrity chefs just teaching us how to cook different recipes, they’re also exploring the intersection of food and culture alongside the art of cooking. For the last decade-plus, chef and culinary expert Andrew Zimmern has been at the forefront of this type of programming, taking viewers around the world to explore culture through food with shows like Bizarre Foods and its spinoff Delicious Destinations. He’s doing it again in his newest series, Family Dinner, but it’s on a much more personal level. Each intimate episode finds Zimmern traveling America and visiting with families in order to better understand how food brings people together, and how culture and history influence who we are and what we eat. It’s a good time.
Maine Cabin Masters
Category: Home Renovation
Status: Existing series
If your design aesthetic falls more into the rustic and woodsy camp instead of modern farmhouse or nautical, Maine Cabin Masters is the home renovation show for you. I’ve personally never been to Maine and don’t particularly like spending time in the woods, but I’ve been known to peruse the ol’ Zillow listings for a cabin of my own after marathoning the show. It’s just that good. The renovation projects the show’s knowledgeable and jovial team tackle on the shores of Maine’s many lakes and ponds are often old and dark. Many times they’ve been in families for generations. There’s a lot of history in these camps, and there’s also a lot of expert craftsmanship on display as contractor Chase Morrill, his sister Ashley—who handles the design aspects of the renovations—and his carpenter brother-in-law Ryan renovate camps to make them better suited for today’s world. But while it’s amazing to see the transformations (some of these cabins are in dire shape in the beginning), the series wouldn’t be half of what it is if the team at the center wasn’t also a lot of fun, and a lot of fun to watch.
Restoration Road with Clint Harp
Category: Historical Preservation, Restoration
Status: Magnolia Network Original
If you’re a fan of Fixer Upper or the Magnolia brand (Magnoliahead? Magnolite? Have we coined a term for this yet?) you’re likely already familiar with Clint Harp, the craftsman behind many of Joanna Gaines’ original wooden design pieces. Now he’s got his own show in the form of Restoration Road, which sees him traveling the country looking for properties and projects in need of restoration. The show stands out from many of the renovation programs you see on TV these days because it prioritizes historical preservation over demolition and remodel. Episodes uncover treasures of days long past while breathing new life into each project. And it’s not just homes that are being restored either—the show actually kicks off with the restoration of a train car and a centuries-old barn. If you’ve ever watched a renovation show and cringed at all the history being lost, this is the show for you.
For the Love of Kitchens
Category: Home Design
Status: Magnolia Network Original
Yes, you read that correctly—I’m recommending a show dedicated entirely to designing kitchens. That might seem a bit odd, but the kitchen is the center of the home. Not only do we spend a lot of our time in it, but it’s also the room that sells a home. I swear I’m not being paid by the kitchen industrial complex to say this. Home Depot is not giving me commission on selling you subway tiles. I just really like this show about creating beautiful kitchens. The series is cozy, based out of the British countryside, and revolves around the company deVOL Kitchens. Each episode follows deVOL’s talented group of artisans as they come together to design, craft, and style bespoke kitchens, prioritizing beautiful artistry and functionality over what might be the trend du jour.
From the Source
Category: Culinary education
Status: Magnolia Network Original
Another offshoot of traditional culinary-themed programming is the educational food program. These types of shows have been around for a while, but they’ve become increasingly popular over the last few years as the genre has evolved. From the Source seeks to explore where our food comes from and how it’s made—not necessarily prepared in a dish, but literally how it’s made. It’s the origin story of the food we eat before it arrives at a restaurant or on our dinner table. Each episode finds chef and restaurant owner Katie Button exploring a different food or topic, from honey and corn to sustainable fishing and cheese-making. If you’ve ever wondered about the work that goes into creating or harvesting some of these staples, you’ll find a lot to like here. And as an added bonus, Button also offers her tips for the best way to use or prepare the foods covered in each episode.
Magnolia Table with Joanna Gaines
Category: Cooking show
Status: Magnolia Network Original
Sometimes the food prepared on instructional cooking shows feels unattainable for the regular person. Magnolia Table is not that type of culinary series, mostly because it’s not hosted by a celebrity chef. With Joanna Gaines at the helm and sharing meals from her cookbooks and the dishes she (supposedly) serves her family, the show is attractive to the everyday person. It’s also more relaxed and less polished than the too-bright programs filmed in shiny studios, which makes it the perfect cooking show to watch when you’re looking for simple culinary inspiration or just want to sit back and watch someone make good-looking food.
Kaitlin Thomas is an entertainment journalist, critic, and food show connoisseur. Her work has appeared in TV Guide, Salon, Polygon, and Gold Derby, among other places. You can find her tweets about TV, sports, and Walton Goggins @thekaitling or read more of her work at kaitlinthomas.com.
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