Discovery+ is predictably comfortable in its blandness

The Hollywood Reporter

"Continued quarantine, combined with the winter chill, probably makes the January 4 launch of Discovery+ one of the best-timed debuts of a streaming service," says Inkoo Kang. "Aspirational and makeover-heavy, with an unmistakable focus on home improvement (at a time when the luckiest of us are forced to stay home as much as possible), the service peddles the fantasies most alluring to us mid-pandemic: easy transformations, uncomplicated domesticity and (oof) housing stability. Naturally, the faces that represent Discovery+ are those of Chip and Joanna Gaines, whose hugely popular HGTV series Fixer Upper, which ended its five-season run in 2018, will embark on a new iteration — subtitled Welcome Home — on the service starting January 29. Discovery+ boasts a natural niche within the streaming wars: unscripted and nonfiction programming. Netflix has had a few breakout reality hits like Love is Blind and Selling Sunset, particularly in the last year, but the streamers have largely ignored or neglected unscripted series. By bringing in shows from HGTV, TLC, Food Network, Animal Planet, ID, OWN and Discovery Channel under one roof, the service will offer more than 2,500 series (totaling 55,000 episodes) in addition to original programming, rivaling Disney+’s catalogue in both its vastness and predictable (or comforting) mediocrity."