Last week, Amy Poehler’s interview with Michelle Obama was released. Amy interviewed MO for her podcast Good Hang, and I’m including the interview at the end of the post. Michelle is a big podcaster now as well, and she’s been returning the favor by doing more pod interviews this year. I actually think MO is in her IDGAF Era, which happened as soon as Trump “won” the election – Michelle was just like, “you know what, I don’t give a sh-t anymore, I’m going to say whatever I want.” Well, as always, MO is just like us. On Good Hang, Michelle revealed something about herself which I relate to so much: she loves HGTV, and she’s obsessed with House Hunters.
In the May 13 episode of Good Hang with Amy Poehler, the former first lady, 61, revealed that when she wants to, as the host phrased it, “disconnect, check out and just have fun,” she watches HGTV. “My version of golf to Barack, because he’s got golf on all the time — he says, ‘It’s my background noise’ — so my version of that is HGTV,” Michelle revealed to a visibly excited Amy Poehler, who responded, “I love HGTV. Let’s talk about it.”
The first show Michelle named? A channel fixture since 1999. “House Hunters,” she said. “There’s something so soothing about the arc of that. You know? You look for a house. We just like looking at people’s houses.”
The Light We Carry author then asked Poehler, 53, a question that divides fans of the long-running series: “Do you prefer when the budget is a low-budget house or a high-budget house? Because sometimes I feel a way, especially House Hunters International.”
In response, Poehler said, “Okay, I’m obsessed with House Hunters International. First of all, every place looks so … I’m like, ‘Wow, you can get that for that money?’ Like, I’m always blown away by what you can get. I’m always like, ‘Should I move to Morocco?’ But usually, they’re never gonna get anything with that budget. And then…”
“They get something with the budget,” Michelle stepped in. “And don’t you like the way people have such high expectations with a low budget? Like, ‘These aren’t marble.’ It’s like, but you wanna pay a hundred dollars a month, you know? Why would you get marble? And then the real estate agent is, and especially in the foreign countries, incredulous. It’s like, ‘Oh, you want a yard for a large dog?’ I love it though.”
And Michelle also loves the HGTV shows focused on what comes after the purchase, she revealed. “Oh, love all the makeover stuff. I love Rock the Block,” the Becoming author said, before explaining — and praising — the premise of the series to an unfamiliar Poehler.
“This is when they get all the designers from all the other [HGTV] shows, and they come on to one block of newly built houses from scratch, and they compete for rooms to see each week,” Michelle explained. “So the designers go in. They have a week or whatever to redo that area, and then they’re judged by other designers. And then they win, and they collect points until they finish the whole house. It’s an amazing concept,” she added of the series, as Poehler added that “that seems like the highest budget in the world.”
As for why they enjoy renovation and makeover series like Rock the Block, Poehler offered, “Just a completion. There’s an end where something is done.”
“And I like the before and after,” Michelle added. “I like the, ‘Oh wow, those floors look much better.’ ”
House Hunters International is WILD! I love that show and I wish HGTV aired it more often. These days, you have to be really lucky and find a marathon once in a blue moon. But HHI is more fantasy – the fantasy of picking up and moving to another country, seeing what you could get in a certain price range. It’s more fun when the people have money AND wild expectations. But I honestly prefer the home makeover shows, for the reason Amy says – the completion, the actual end result within a 30-minute or 60-minute show. I’m a big fan of Ben and Erin Napier (Home Town) and Dave and Jenny Marrs (Fixer to Fabulous). I like a married couple working together, especially when they have a good marriage.
Screengrabs courtesy of Good Hang.
Season one of Rock the Block was the best season, period.
I’m obsessed with HHI. I was lucky to catch a mini marathon on OWN this past weekend. I also love Bargain Block. My new obsession is the Ugliest homes in America. Retta makes the show.
Isn’t the entire HHI series on the streamer formally known as Max? I watch on the treadmill. And I too went full IDGAF after the election. And hyper YOLO.
Yes I play House Hunter international on HBO MAX one after the other. The best part is there are no commercials and you can rewind and go back if you want to see something you missed because you were scrolling on your phone.
There are a ton of these make over shows I never heard of that are fun.
I like to hate-watch HHI. I love the idea of picking up and moving to another country, and I love seeing the homes in other countries. But some of them on the show, sheesh. They complain about the bedroom size, we can fit a king size in here, they complain about the kitchen, no garbage disposal?! The fridge is too small, there is no room to entertain, it just goes on and on sometimes. I need to believe some or all of it is scripted that way.
LMAO! Back in the day I hate watched both versions. HH – Oh, but I really wanted granite countertops and white cabinets, so I’ll choose a house an extra hour from my job.
HHI – My goal is to be a gourmet chef, so I’m moving to a tiny village in Italy where all the buildings are a 1000 years old. Why can’t I get a large kitchen with modern appliances?
I love House Hunters! The people are the most interesting thing about the show, much more than the properties. I love to see the dynamic between the people and often find myself yelling at the screen because they are so ridiculous or unrealistic in their expectations, especially when they want million dollar amenities for $100,000 and have an attitude about it. I really like HHI because I love to see how people live in other countries.
Right. The attitude, usually female, can be so grating. ” But I want a high end kitchen. But this is just an ordinary bathroom. Why are the walk in closets so small? “That’s because this is not a 500K $ house and your budget is half that. I’d love to have the patience of a real estate agent.
My favorite thing about House Hunters International was the range in budgets.
Watching a young woman looking for a studio apartment in Paris was just as much fun as the rich people stuff.
Even if House Hunters is all fake. I enjoy it.
The thing that always gets me on House Hunters International is that the people are up and moving to a different part of the world where they know no one, yet they’re forever prioritizing space for entertaining. Who’s coming over? You don’t even speak the language!
I’ve been listening to Amy’s podcast, which is good. This was a good episode, Michelle is really funny. It spurred me to listen to her podcast with her brother, which is also funny. They seem to have a really sweet sibling relationship.
HHI is my obsession. Especially love the Dutch episodes. Like the dude who wanted a/c and ‘Dutch charm’ & realtor Floor, was what the heck is Dutch charm and if it exists it doesn’t come with a/c. Or the Parisian realtor that bursts American bubbles about what they can get in Paris for unrealistic budgets.
This makes me want to hang out with Michelle Obama.
I like Rock the Block, Home Town and love Help I Wrecked My House where Jasmine Roth works with people who took on more DIY than they could handle.
Part of the appeal of that was the chill California vibe, but with a ‘get er done’ approach, so it will be interesting to see how it goes in Utah.
Some Canadian imports are fun: Vacation House Rules and the old Holmes on Homes.
I used to love Unsellable Houses but the premise changed a few seasons in and it’s much more a typical reno show, but with a LOT of loud talking for no reason (why do the twins shout everything, even when they are chatting over coffee?) and focus on their businesses. So it’s an occasional watch .
I detest the multiple Flip or Flop spin offs – too much mean-spirited sniping, huffiness and overinflated egos.
I love “House Hunters,” too. It’s my go-to comfort-watch.
And when the house hunter is the first person in their family to buy a home and acquire generational wealth, I may even cry a bit.
HHI can be hilarious, especially when it features the real estate agent in the Netherlands, who gets overly familiar with her clients LOL. And the Scottish agent who can’t keep from rolling her eyes at the demands of American clients.
Fan of bargain block and farmhouse fixer, along with HHI. The idea of packing a suitcase and moving to a small apartment in a sane european country is very appealing.
PSA: If House Hunters is your comfort-watch, I also recommend:
My Lottery Dream Home,
Escape to the Country (BritBox),
Gardener’s World (BritBox),
I watched a lot of old Sarah Richardson shows out of Canada during lockdown.
And old episodes of Danny Clarke’s one day gardening show. Often I didn’t like the designs but I find him incredibly engaging.
I really enjoy watching Rock The Block. It’s fun to watch the teams interact and see what they come up with for the different spaces in the houses they do. My only really complaint is that at least in the finales I’ve seen, I side-eye who the winner is. Don’t get me wrong, I think all of them do a really good job. They’re talented people. But it’s supposed to be based on who added the most market value, and it these cases it just didn’t ring true to me.
This is how obsessive I get about this stuff. For the one of the seasons I watched, I went on line to see whether the houses were listed yet and if so for how much (as in, did the winners really have their house priced the highest?). I had to sign up for this particulate site to get see the listings and I did, since it only took a minute and I like real estate anyway. It turns out I was right and the house that won was listed third or fourth in price, not first. The house I thought should have won was listed first.
So of course I got a phone call from some guy asking if I was interested in homes in the area. I wish! I told him no and actually confessed why I signed up for the site. He said quite a few other people had done the same, lol.