Let's talk about shows where people compete to make really good food under crazy pressure. This kind of shit is my guilty pleasure, I can't cook very well, but I could watch shows where people pit their cooking skills against each other forever. This is a place where living with my parents has benefits, because watching these shows with other people who get involved is the best TV watching experience after watching major sporting events with passionate people.
I've started watching The Great British Bake Off and I've been loving the 4 episodes I've watched of it so far, it's so much calmer and pleasant than American cooking shows, not to mention legitimately informative, which is quite refreshing. Another show I really like is the Australian show My Kitchen Rules, which is a much of standard cooking show, but at the same time enjoyable. I sometimes enjoy watching my local variant of Masterchef as well, but I'm not the biggest fan of personal drama fueled reality shows. The Taste is also not bad.
Not to mention stuff like Chopped, Cutthroat Kitchen or even less popular stuff like Sweet Genius which are always great for a quick pick-me-up.
Why are these shows so compelling? I don't get it myself but I love watching almost all of them, I might have a problem but I'm not sure I want a cure.