Discovery Unveils New & Returning Highlights Across Portfolio

Discovery, Inc. has revealed its 2021-22 linear and streaming programming slates, with highlights across automotive, documentaries, home, lifestyle, the paranormal and unexplained and true crime.

Front and center are the additions to discovery+, the company’s newly launched subscription streaming service. New originals include the automotive series Celebrity IOU: Joyride with master mechanic Ant Anstead and car guru Cristy Lee, who team up with celebrities Renee Zellweger, Mary J. Blige, Tony Hawk, Octavia Spencer, James Marsden and Danny Trejo to create automotive masterpieces for someone special in their lives.

In Drew’s Dream Car, Property Brothers’ Drew Scott enlists the help of Anstead to design and build the custom car of his dreams.

Among the documentary projects is My Name is Bulger, which weaves its way through the stories of Boston gangster James “Whitey” Bulger and his brother Bill Bulger, who served as State Senate President in Massachusetts for nearly 20 years. Smartest Kids in the World chronicles the journey of four American teenagers who study abroad in countries that dramatically outperform the United States in education. Generation Growth, meanwhile, charts the poor health and educational outcomes in low-income areas across America and how Stephen Ritz, a Bronx educator, is on a mission to change that.

In Crutch, the life of Bill Shannon, an internationally renowned artist, break-dancer and skate punk—on crutches—is explored. Lily Topples the World tells the coming-of-age story of 20-year-old Lily Hevesh, the world’s most acclaimed domino artist and the only woman in her field who has over one billion YouTube views. It features appearances by Jimmy Fallon, Katy Perry, Will Smith and more. The feature documentary No Responders Left Behind follows 9/11 responder and activist John Feal who, along with comedian Jon Stewart and FDNY hero Ray Pfeifer, fought U.S. Congress to ensure that thousands of terminally ill 9/11 First Responders got the health care they deserved.

In the home category, there’s the discovery+ original 40 Year Old Property Virgin, which sees a unique set of house hunters finally ready to give up their rent-free lifestyle and search for their first home. The House My Wedding Bought will follow designer and real estate expert Breegan Jane (Extreme Makeover: Home Edition) help engaged couples tackle two of life’s biggest decisions, helping couples on a budget who want to pay for a dream wedding and put a downpayment on a house. Lifestyle expert Martha Stewart will let her hair down as she showcases her seasonal gardening know-how, lifestyle and entertainment tips from her Bedford, N.Y. property in the new discovery+ series Martha Gets Down and Dirty.

Ethan and Elizabeth Finkelstein, founders of the social media phenomenon Cheap Old Houses, will star in a ten-episode series of the same name this summer. In Selling the Hamptons, seven Hamptons-based Nest Seekers real estate agents showcase the enclave’s luxurious properties.

Lifestyle titles include Weekend Getaway with Michelle Buteau, the comedian, actor, author, wife and mother of twin toddlers takes a break from home life and hits the road for a few weekends with her comedian pals.

The Haunted Museum is among the paranormal and unexplained titles Discovery has announced. Produced in collaboration with filmmaker Eli Roth, it will spotlight the creepy collection of haunted artifacts housed inside Zak Bagans’ Haunted Museum. The revival of Ghost Hunters will feature original team leader Jason Hawes, joined by Steve Gonsalves, Dave Tango and Shari DeBenedetti in epic haunted locations.

In true crime, there’s Curse of the Chippendales, telling the story of how the famous dance troupe took the Los Angeles nightclub scene by storm and ended with international fame, untold wealth, bizarre murder plots and multiple deaths trapped in their legacy. Chasing Ghislaine, from executive producer and international best-selling author James Patterson and New York Times best-selling author and journalist Vicky Ward, is an investigative documentary series about Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell. From executive producer Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, Confessions of A Crime Queen is a true-crime anthology series that brings to life headline-making stories by combining documentary and scripted genres. Each season of the anthology will focus on the true story of one woman who created and led a multi-million-dollar criminal empire before a dramatic fall from power, portrayed by an A-list actress who will also interview the real-life female crime lord at the center of the story.

There was further new programming announced for Discovery’s portfolio of brands, which includes Discovery Channel, HGTV, Food Network, TLC, Investigation Discovery, OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network, Magnolia Network, Animal Planet, MotorTrend, Travel Channel and Science Channel.

The Discovery Channel programming slate for 2021 includes the motoring series Getaway Driver with Michelle Rodriguez and featuring 24 elite drivers competing in a nearly 60-acre compound filled with obstacles. There’s also the tentatively titled Mating Season (discovery+) that brings together the fun of relationship competition shows with the mating rituals of the Animal Kingdom. In Mountain Love (discovery+), five people from cities and suburbs decide to move in with their long-distance partners who live way off-grid in some of the most remote corners of the country. Naked & Afraid of Love (discovery+) strips down dating to only our most primal wants and needs, blending survival and romance. On the Roam (w/t, discovery+) will follow actor Jason Momoa as he searches for the fearless artists and dreamers who are the masters of their craft.

In Serengeti II, Discovery journeys back to the vast, nearly untouched plains of Tanzania to revisit some favorite faces and meet new ones along the way. Shark Academy (discovery+) follows eight men and women who will compete to secure a coveted crew spot on shark scientist, Dr. Riley Elliott’s next great shark diving expedition. The Hop (w/t) centers on a loud and diverse set of builders and mechanics from four elite custom lowrider garages in the country as they devote their lives to making their lowrider builds dominate the world of lowrider building and car hopping.

Discovery has ordered for discovery+ Who Wants to Be an Astronaut?, produced by Boat Rocker Studios through Matador Content and BoomTown Content. It offers ordinary people the chance to travel from Earth into space, where they’ll live aboard the International Space Station for eight days.

Upcoming HGTV shows include My Lottery Dream Home, which will see designer David Bromstad share his top tips for luxurious living with lucky homebuyers. The new episodes of My Lottery Dream Home will also be available to stream on discovery+ each Friday. There’s also new seasons of Property Brothers: Forever Home, Christina on the Coast, Vacation House Rules, Hot Mess House, Celebrity IOU, Good Bones and Renovation Island.

Among the new series for HGTV are Two Steps Home, which will see home renovation experts Jon Pierre and Mary Tjon-Joe-Pin take a two-step approach to guide clients through the oftentimes daunting process of selling their current house and buying a new one that fits their needs; and HGTV’s newest competition series Battle on the Beach, which will feature network stars Taniya Nayak, Ty Pennington and Alison Victoria as they mentor three teams of up-and-coming flippers while they renovate identical beachfront properties. Set in Charleston, South Carolina, Breaking Bland introduces designer Mary Welch Stasik who will break any design boundary and encourage clients to eschew traditional looks to create a truly personalized space. Further, HGTV’s popular outdoor renovation show Curb Appeal will get a fresh spin in Curb Appeal Xtreme.

For Food Network, there are new seasons of BBQ Brawl and Buddy vs. Duff and it’s spin-off, Buddy vs Duff: Bakers Battle. New series include Battle of the Brothers (discovery+), which pits Bryan and Michael Voltaggio against one another as they each lead a team of aspiring chefs through a culinary gauntlet designed to impart the wisdom earned over a lifetime in the restaurant industry. Grill of Victory will see Sabin Lomac host a competition of America’s best backyard grillers. There’s also the new tournament Chopped: Alton’s Maniacal Baskets that will showcase a competition between sixteen bright-eyed chefs with truly challenging baskets. In The Pioneer Woman: Ranch Wedding, Ree Drummond’s daughter Alex Drummond marries her college sweetheart Mauricio Scott and viewers will have a front-row seat to the nuptials and all the planning and preparation for the big day.

Robert Irvine hosts The Globe (discovery+), in which four chefs compete across three rounds of culinary challenges as they make stops around the world via a set made up of LED screen projectors that transport the competitor and the viewer anywhere. No Recipe Road Trip with the Try Guys (w/t, discovery+), inspired by their hit web series Without a Recipe, the Try Guys are hitting the road to visit American restaurants and attempt to recreate their signature dishes without a recipe.

New titles for TLC include 90 Day: Caribbean Love (discovery+) a new docu-soap from the producers of 90 Day Fiancé that follows people who found love in the Caribbean. You, Me & My Ex explores the dynamics when an ex is still in the picture and a little too close for comfort. So Freakin Cheap follows four unique families as they go to extraordinary lengths to save money and live their most frugal lives. Addicted to Marriage centers on “serial” brides and grooms who have been engaged and married a number of times.

For OWN, there there are new seasons of Put A Ring On It and Love & Marriage: Huntsville.

Heading to Animal Planet is Otter Dynasty (w/t), about Singapore’s rare, smooth-coated otters that were declared locally extinct in the 1970s but have since made a welcome comeback. There’s also the tentatively titled The Mighty Underdogs (discovery+), which offers a never-before-seen look inside Junior Dog Shows, where preteen and teen handlers compete among thousands for one of the limited, and highly coveted spots at the Westminster Dog Show and AKC National Championship.

For MotorTrend, there is more Bitchin’ Rides, Roadkill, Top Gear America and Faster With Finnegan, as well as the new series Kevin Hart’s Muscle Car Crew, which will see Kevin Hart and The Plastic Cup Boyz seek answers to the questions around being a devoted automotive fan and learn to navigate the challenges of owning classic vehicles. Also new is Motor Mythbusters, which melds science with the street in a search for the truth behind popular automotive myths.