Now we get to House Hunters, an HGTV mainstay since 1999. Part of the beauty of the show is that it doesn't rely on the hosts to carry the show — because there are no hosts. Instead, the house hunters themselves are the stars of the show, along with the unseen, long-running narrator whose soothing voice guides us.
We know what happens in each episode — except, of course, which of the three properties the couple (or friend/roommate, etc.) will choose. However, part of the show's winning formula, according to The Washington Post, is that predictability that we all seem to crave in this crazy world.
We also love that House Hunters gives us the ability to "play along" with average couples doing something that's been part of the American dream for quite some time; so said Shawn Shimpach, associate professor of cinema studies at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. "There's some appeal in seeing how they interact with each other... You play along by deciding, which would I choose? And so, am I like these people, or am I different from these people?"
