Will Hipsters Finally Get Their ‘American Idol’?
Reality-TV historians rightly remember Antiques Roadshow as one of the genre’s formative forebears. One of the earliest updates of the storied traveling freak show for the televisual medium, the venerable institution (the original British version dates to the very punk year of 1979) paved the way for cheap, glorious crap like the early rounds of American Idol, everything about Hoarders, and everything on HGTV. But what if, instead of finding garbage in their attics, insufferable people made the garbage with their own two hands? What if NBC filmed it? That’s the question that hipster hero Amy Poehler and her production company, Paper Kite Productions, are asking in their sell of The Handmade Project, an “unscripted series” focused on competitive arts and crafts. To make things even more affable, she will be joined by Nick Offerman, her co-star on NBC’s hit Parks and Recreation. NBC has put in a six-episode order.
Each episode, Deadline reports, will feature “eight all-around makers, from all walks of life… [taking] on a series of projects with the hopes of impressing Poehler [and] Offerman.” The show will be structured around an escalating series of challenges that each week’s lucky eight will task their hands to complete. Further judges will join and ascertain such craft matters like use of the proverbial school glue connecting the sticks but it will be Poehler and Offerman’s primary duty to provide “comedic guidance.”
In their previous pairing, Poehler, as Leslie Knope, played the naive liberal waif to Offerman’s libertarian beef package named Ron Swanson. Remaining in character, Offerman has continued to do other brawny-man things like churn out books on folksy living, losing his business to Micheal Keaton like a man in a movie and urinating profusely in a FIDLAR music video. For her part, aside from a starring role in Sisters (2015) and hosting the Golden Globes, both reuniting her with her former SNL-collaborator Tina Fey, Poehler has kept behind the scenes: producing a number of television shows under her Paper Kite arm (Difficult People, Welcome to Sweden, but most notably, Broad City) and voicing the feeling of Joy in Disney’s Inside Out (2015).
It is not is not known if Poehler and Offerman will resume their brains-vs-brawn dynamic but both are making in-character goes of appearing enthused about their new venture. “I’m looking forward to finally conquering my fear of paper mache,” Poehler told Deadline. [I’m] tickled pink to have a front row seat at this prodigious display of talent,” Offerman, has also said, his publicist’s voice diligently reminding me of somebody with a fondness for pancakes, “admiring and cheering on an amazing crop of American makers.”
Interestingly, Poelher and NBC are really pushing against calling their new thing a reality show or a game show. In addition to ‘unscripted series,’ other phrases that are being tossed around include “competition series” (USA Today),“an unscripted craft-friendly offering” (Uproxx) and NBC, themselves, are going with “friendly competition.” Just sell me some Pizza Hut, guys. Since Carrie Brownstein and Fred Armisen’s Portlandia became enough of a runaway hit to help gentrify a community, millennial hipsters have slowly evolved into a demographic worthy of generating television content. Bob’s Burgers has slowly geared themselves toward becoming a cesspool of indie rock bonafides and did you know The A.V. Club now has a show now? It is literally the most embarrassing thing in the world since Morrissey wrote about sex.
Parks and Recreation was never able to generate the vaguely popular appeal of The Office but, like Neutral Milk Hotel, it was cute and people seemed to like it in big cities. It generated memes! Thinkpieces! Its fitting that their next project will target this demographic even harder, nailing down their love of Etsy and calling themselves creatives. While its most immediate TV forebear would appear to be an olde’ game show like Beat the Clock, with its promise of little tasks, The Handmade Project’s lineage, points to the highly profitable turmoil of reality TV by way of The Voice or American Idol. Nicolle Yaron, who developed The Handmade Project with Paper Kite, worked as a producer on The Voice for its first two years. Matching an anyone-can-do-it promise with the banter of funny people who’ve sold books about how funny they are, The Handmade Project has eyes outside of hipsterdom and into the greater community of people who watch competitive reality TV.
Those interested in having their work laughed at by both Amy Poehler and Nick Offerman are warmly invited to fill out a hundred-and-three-question questionnaire on the show’s website.
Have fun!
Amy Poehler and Nick Offerman Want to Laugh at Your Crafts was originally published in Film School Rejects on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.