Yahoo News The best shows to stream on Discovery+ right now
Fact is stranger than fiction and traversing Discovery+ will take you on a journey of extreme fact finding. A hub for all Discovery brands (including TLC, Animal Planet, HGTV, and Food Network) this streaming platform boasts content that seeks to entertain and educate viewers. Fronted by perspicacious hosts with expertise in fields you never knew existed, Discovery+ can teach you about love, loneliness, the natural world, and consumer culture. Whether you're hunting ghosts or houses, or gathering groceries or new information, Discovery+ is here to fill in the gaps left by grade school and real life. So grab your remote, power up your TV, and prepare to journey into the wild with one of entertainment's most interesting streaming platforms.
<i>90 Day Fiancé</i> (2014 - 2023)
Catfishing, breakups, makeups, proposals, lies, love, hate, and of course, Big Ed. With all the caveats that come with love and internet dating, 90 Day Fiancé and all its spin-off shows make for great entertainment. The majority of the 90 Day Fiancé universe shows engaged couples in long-distance relationships as they meet in person for the first time and decide if their compatibility holds up in the real world. As TLC's most-watched franchise, 90 Day Fiancé clings to our human optimism (as we hope for the best) and our natural love of chaos (as we await the inevitable train wreck). Each season introduces a cast of characters whose romantic endeavors you either root for, laugh at, or despise. Feel free to call it a guilty pleasure if that makes you feel better about yourself, but there's no denying that these shows are captivating. — Briana Richert
Where to watch 90 Day Fiancé: Discovery+
Cast: Shaun Robinson
Related reading: Lukas Gage is in a group chat with Molly Shannon, 90 Day Fiancé stars, and former members of NXIVM
<i>Alone</i> (2015 - 2023)
History Channel's Alone challenges ten professional survivalists to endure the wilderness for as long as possible with limited resources and complete isolation. In separate parts of a remote location, the contestants try their best to stay safe (and sane) to beat out the competition for the $500,000 prize. This show is like Survivor's rugged older brother who has undoubtedly been through some trauma. The survivalists face intense weather, wildlife predators, and other life-threatening obstacles throughout each episode. While the game seems like a nightmare to extroverts and those dependent on modern luxuries, Alone provides its viewers with practical survival knowledge and encourages introspection in a world overwhelmed with media distractions. In a conversation with EW's Mike Miller, Alone season 8 winner, Clay Hayes, says "one of the biggest benefits of doing something like this is you get undistracted time to look inward and think about yourself." — B.R.
Where to watch Alone: Discovery+
Related reading: Alone season 8 winner on facing down a charging grizzly, eating deer heart, and surviving himself
<i>Dr. Pimple Popper</i> (2018 - 2023)
"Once you pop the fun don't stop" is technically Pringles' tagline, but the same applies to the TLC reality show Dr. Pimple Popper. Dermatologist Dr. Sandra Lee started attracting attention as a YouTuber, but her treatments of patients' unusual — and often disgusting — skin conditions attracted such a large following, her content demanded a larger platform. Lee's hour-long reality show began airing on TLC in 2018 and continues to be a huge draw for the network. From lipomas and cysts to keloids and tumors, Lee tackles them all with professionalism and a seemingly imperturbable gag reflex. The shooting spurts of goo, pus, and assorted bodily fluids are definitely not for the faint of heart or weak of stomach, but for those who enjoy watching an expert pop pimples, lance boils, and generally improve the quality of her patients' lives, Dr. Pimple Popper is sure to deliver. — Ilana Gordon
Where to watch Dr. Pimple Popper: Discovery+
Cast: Dr. Sandra Lee
Related content: TLC's Dr. Pimple Popper delivers the goo (and then some): EW review
<i>Evil Lives Here</i> (2016 - 2023)
This Investigation Discovery show will delight true crime fanatics but may debilitate those with trust issues. Evil Lives Here details horrific crime stories told from the perspective of the criminal's closest friends and family. With documentary-style interviews, reenactments, and photo and video footage of the criminals themselves, the show paints a terrifying picture of what it's like to live with a real-world monster. From serial killers such as John Wayne Gacy to high-profile cult leaders like Warren Jeffs to lesser-known case files, Evil Lives Here explores the backgrounds of disturbed individuals before they committed such terrible crimes. Their relatives or former spouses share when they encountered or saw early signs of their loved one's malevolence. Both chilling and heartbreaking, this show proves that evil can lurk anywhere, even in the people we think we know best. — B.R.
Where to watch Evil Lives Here: Discovery+
Related reading: Carole Baskin's missing husband the focus of Tiger King sequel at ID
<i>Ghost Adventures</i> (2008 - 2023)
Dust off your sage and keep your local exorcist on speed dial because after this show, you might want to do a cautionary spirit cleansing. Ghost Adventures follows Zak Bagans, a paranormal investigator with notoriously bedazzled jeans, as he and his crew hunt for supernatural activity in the world's creepiest destinations. From the battlegrounds of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, to Transylvania, the birthplace of the fearsome Dracula, this Travel Channel show proves that Bagans and his team shy away from no haunted location. The show explores the mysteries of the afterlife with high-tech equipment and overviews of the rich histories of some of the world's most tragic deaths. All of their ghost encounters are certainly up for debate, but it does make you question the tangibility of the afterlife. If nothing else, it educates you about the history of the towns they explore and adds context to some of the most famous horror stories like Dracula and The Exorcist. — B.R.
Where to watch Ghost Adventures: Discovery+
Cast: Zak Bagans
Related reading: Ghost Adventures gang to visit 'Exorcist' house in 100th episode
<i>Guy's Grocery Games</i> (2014 - 2020)
Guy Fieri hosts this Food Network grocery store game show where chefs compete in three cook-off challenges for a $20,000 grand prize. A viewing experience that will simultaneously get your adrenaline pumping and your mouth watering, Guy's Grocery Games is less like the cutthroat Chopped competition and more like a game you'd want to play with your family — yes, even if you suck at cooking. It is lighthearted and playful with exciting challenges involving refrigerator magnets, oddball ingredient combos, and shopping carts that the contestants speed down the aisles like they're in the Indy 500. Fieri is an affable host, the meals look exquisite, and sometimes your favorite TV chefs (Jet Tila, Anne Burrell, and more) take on the game. It is a blast to join these hyper-talented chefs as they create culinary miracles out of grocery store finds. — B.R.
Where to watch Guy's Grocery Games: Discovery+
Cast: Guy Fieri
Related reading: Things I did not know about Guy Fieri
<i>House Hunters</i> (1999 - 2023)
This classic HGTV franchise takes you on house tours with prospective homebuyers and their realtors as they try to find the perfect place to put in an offer. Around the globe, from tiny houses to million-dollar mega-villas, House Hunters provides a spectacle of home architecture and design as well as insight into the home buying process. If you wish they would take the whole construction part out of home design shows, then this series is for you. Discovery+ hosts a treasure trove of House Hunters spin-offs, so there is pretty much a version for everyone's taste. In an interview with EW writer Nuzhat Naoreen, former HGTV executive Brian Balthazar calls the show "real estate comfort food." Considering the format, which involves touring three different houses and weighing the pros and cons of each, Balthazar says, "You really feel like you are on this house hunt yourself." — B.R.
Where to watch House Hunters: Discovery+
Cast: Suzanne Whang, Colette Whitaker
Related reading: Burning Questions: House Hunters
<i>How the Universe Works</i> (2010 - 2023)
The Discovery Channel has long attracted viewers with a curious bent, but in their documentary television show How the Universe Works, the network gets down to the science of what really matters: the creation of the universe as we know it. From the tiniest atom to the deepest black hole, How the Universe Works features 11 seasons of expert explanations and explorations into how we got here, breaking down topics large (solar systems, dark matter, nebulas) and small (the birth of Earth, how the universe built your car). Accessible to viewers of all ages and levels of scientific literacy, How the Universe Works takes the topics you learned about in school — and promptly forgot — and churns out episodes featuring compelling, memorable, and easy to retain content. If you don't already know How the Universe Works, it might be time to start exploring. — I.G.
Where to watch How the Universe Works: Discovery+
Cast: Mike Rowe, Erik Todd Dellums
Related content: Discovery Channel and BBC partner to launch new streaming service
<i>I Am Shauna Rae</i> (2022 - 2023)
Childhood brain cancer stunted the growth of 22-year-old Shauna Rae, who now stands at the average height of an 8-year-old. This TLC human interest show chronicles Shauna's day-to-day life as she navigates adulthood, her health, and the public's ignorance toward her 3-foot 10-inch height. TLC is known for opening doors (and minds) to people and livelihoods outside of what we know as the so-called "norm." In this show, we watch Shauna participate in average, age-appropriate activities like going to bars and navigating the murky waters of online dating as she struggles to achieve independence and respect from a world that sees her as a child. Not only is Shauna's life and sassy attitude entertaining, but she reminds her audience of their own differences and how we should reserve our judgments and show common decency to people of all sizes. — B.R.
Where to watch I Am Shauna Rae: Discovery+
Cast: Shauna Rae
<i>Married at First Sight</i> (2014 - 2023)
Arranged marriages go modern in Married at First Sight, a reality series where relationship experts get to play matchmaker by creating couples with the understanding the two will get married immediately upon meeting each other. A social experiment based on a Danish series that aired a year before the US show premiered in 2014, Married at First Sight's team of experts includes everyone from clinical psychologists and sexologists to sociologists and marriage counselors. The series moves to a different location within the continental United States with every season and after eight weeks together, the couples are given the option to remain together or seek a divorce. With 59 pairs matched so far and 12 couples still together, the show boasts a 20% success rate — pretty good odds both in love and reality TV. — I.G.
Where to watch Married at First Sight: Discovery+
Cast: Pepper Schwartz, Calvin Roberson, Viviana Coles, Jessica Griffin
Related content: Married at First Sight will outlive us all: Lifetime orders 6 more seasons
<i>Mythbusters</i> (2003 - 2016)
When it comes to determining the veracity of old wives' tales and local legends, there's no duo more committed than the Mythbusters. Over the course of the show's 296 episodes, a pair of special effects experts and their staff work to prove or disprove the common myths that haunt our everyday lives. From testing to see if banana peels really are as slippery as comedy makes them out to be to proving that Jack and Rose both could have survived the Titanic sinking if she had just made some more room on that door, these hardworking hosts and their team of artists, metal workers, and robotics experts helped make the show one of the Discovery Channel's tentpole series during its 13-year run. When there's something strange in your neighborhood, who you gonna call? Mythbusters! — I.G.
Where to watch Mythbusters: Discovery+
Cast: Jamie Hyneman, Adam Savage, Kari Byron, Tory Bellici, Grant Imahara, Scottie Chapman, Jessi Combs, Jon Lung, Brian Louden, Bisi Ezerioha, Faye Hadley
Related content: MythBusters busts out its top 25 moments. What's your favorite?
<i>Naked and Afraid</i> (2013 - 2023)
An exercise in extreme vulnerability, the American reality series Naked and Afraid pairs two survivalist strangers, strips them down to nothing, and drops them in the wilderness to survive for three weeks. Now entering season 15, each episode of Naked and Afraid follows a different couple as they meet for the first time (naked), attempt to feed themselves and evade wild animals (naked), and ultimately arrive at an extraction point at the end of their 21-day journey (still naked). Survivalists are allowed one helpful item, but are given no help from the camera crews that are there to document their progress — although they are given the option of tapping out for medical or emotional reasons. A cross between Alone and Dating Naked, the show is unpredictable, captivating, and filled with opportunities to pick up survival tips. — I.G.
Where to watch Naked and Afraid: Discovery+
Cast: Michael Brown
Related content: Naked and Afraid: Solo first look reveals survivalists are naked, afraid — and alone in new spin-off
<i>Pawn Stars</i> (2009 - 2023)
Everyone loves a treasure hunt, and in the History Channel's reality series Pawn Stars, little trinkets can pay off tenfold. The show follows the owners and employees of Las Vegas' World-Famous Gold and Silver Pawn Shop, a family-owned business focused on authenticating and purchasing valuable artifacts from everyday people. Featuring context and commentary about the different pieces brought in and evaluated, the show also focuses on the interpersonal relationships between its colorful cast, and the conflicts that arise between the employees and the sellers when the two don't see eye to eye on an object's value. A series that will have you exploring your local thrift store with fresh eyes, Pawn Stars helps put a price tag on history. — I.G.
Where to watch Pawn Stars: Discovery+
Cast: Rick Harrison, Richard "Old Man" Harrison, Corey "Big Hoss" Harrison, Austin "Chumlee" Russell
Related content: Find out how much Han Solo's original blaster is worth in Pawn Stars sneak peek
<i>Shark Week</i> (1988 - 2023)
Every week can be Shark Week with a Discovery+ subscription. This annual series includes nature documentaries that provide an education in all things great white and beyond. You can also watch celebrities (including Mike Tyson, J.B. Smoove, the Jackass crew, and more) become bait for entertainment as they dive into treacherous waters. Shark Week not only educates us on the secret lives of sharks, but it also adds a level of excitement with the various big-name guests who dare tread the same waters as these mostly harmless but still potentially dangerous creatures, bringing humor, suspense, and tons of fun to this cultural phenomenon. And every July (during actual Shark Week), you can expect a new lineup of episodes to swim into the mix. — B.R.
Where to watch Shark Week: Discovery+
Related reading: Aquaman himself will host Shark Week
<i>Storage Wars</i> (2010 - 2023)
Treasure hunters and thrift lovers will find a worthy obsession in Storage Wars, a reality competition series about what happens to abandoned storage units. Originally set in California, local law dictates that after three months of not paying for a locker, owners forfeit their rights to its contents, which then go up for auction. The series follows the professional buyers who bid on these lots, often with little insight as to what might be inside. After the auction ends, the winner combs through their winnings, itemizing the value of what's inside and crossing their fingers that the gamble pays off. A reality show that crosses the appraising spirit of Pawn Stars with the reality of disgusting lockers, Storage Wars now has 14 seasons is available to stream on Discovery+. — I.G.
Where to watch Storage Wars: Discovery+
Cast: Dave Hester, Darrell Sheets, Brandon Sheets, Jarrod Schulz, Brandi Passante, Barry Weiss, Dan Dotson, Laura Dotson
Related reading: Storage Wars star Gunter Nezhoda dies at 67 from lung cancer complications
<i>Trixie Motel</i> (2022)
In this Discovery+ original series, drag superstar Trixie Mattel and her partner David renovate a rundown motel in hopes of transforming it into a bold and fabulous Palm Springs getaway. With the help of skilled designers and some of Trixie's famous friends (Zooey Deschanel, Nicole Byer, Leslie Jordan, and more), the Trixie Motel steadily goes from drab to fab one room at a time. This show is a mix of hilarity, fashion, and stylistic construction coupled with the humorous wit of a drag show and the architectural glamor of a Barbie Dreamhouse on steroids. As Trixie says in her interview with EW's Joey Nolfi, "...it's like going to sleep in an art installation. It makes every other hotel look like four walls and a bed." Trixie Motel brings a much-needed pop of color to Discovery+'s usual lineup of renovation shows. — B.R.
Where to watch Trixie Motel: Discovery+
Cast: Trixie Mattel, David Silver, Brandon Lim, Dani Dazey, David Rios
Related reading: Trixie Mattel puts a hotel in stunning drag (with a wig and a sledgehammer) in Trixie Motel preview
<i>Undercover Underage</i> (2021 - 2023)
There are only two seasons of ID's docuseries Undercover Underage, but every episode still packs a punch. Led by child advocate Roo Powell, the show follows her nonprofit SOSA (Safe From Online Sex Abuse) and its decoy work aimed at identifying and arresting pedophelic predators. Aided by other adult women who pose as underage girls online to collect information on potential abusers, Roo and her team work alongside law enforcement to apprehend the worst offenders among us. Taking a sensitive and informed approach to its delicate subject matter, Undercover Underage is a great show for parents looking to educate themselves about the dangers of online sexual abuse. — I.G.
Where to watch Undercover Underage: Discovery+
Cast: Roo Powell
Related reading: The best true crime shows on Peacock
<i>Where We Call Home</i> (2022)
Short attention span or just short on time? The Magnolia Network (founded by Chip and Joanna Gaines), which is available through Discovery+, has a few quick and comforting shows to squeeze into your limited timeframe. Where We Call Home runs around 10 minutes per episode and challenges our ideas on what types of buildings we can make homes out of. With families living in old churches, abandoned schoolhouses, and car dealerships, this short series proves that we can find "home" just about anywhere. More importantly, you can build a home from just about anything. In this show, homeowners of the most unlikely houses give us a tour and a bit of background on how they transformed their space. It takes the age-old insult "were you raised in a barn?" to a literal level. — B.R.
Where to watch Where We Call Home: Discovery+
Related reading: What to Watch on Wednesday: Chip and Joanna Gaines bring Magnolia Network to cable
