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With certain shows, it is a balance of personality and premise. When you watch a talk show, it’s usually not about the premise, unless you love celebrities talking. It’s about liking the host and their personality. I really enjoy At Home with Amy Sedaris, even though I don’t care about crafting or any of that stuff. I just think Amy Sedaris is hilarious and her absurd sense of humor runs through that show. Some shows have such a strong hook you would enjoy them pretty much no matter who was involved. Some people you like so much you’d watch them do just about anything. Then, there are the shows that are a combination of both. You like the person, and you like the premise, so combined they work. However, separate neither things works quite as well.
I have been thinking about this recently because I have been thinking about Claire Saffitz. She rose to stardom on Bon Appetit’s YouTube channel, primarily doing her Gourmet Makes show. On that show, she would make gourmet versions of snack treats like Cheetos and candy bars like Snickers. It was the first Bon Appetit show I ever got into, and also my favorite. I would watch every new episode of Gourmet Makes, and I considered Claire my favorite Bon Appetit personality.
Like many former members of BA, Claire left, and recently she started her own YouTube channel to support her cookbook Dessert Person. In the videos she makes desserts from her book. I missed seeing Claire so of course I tried watching them. And…they are OK, I guess. Saffitz is charming, sure, but watching somebody just make a dessert isn’t terribly interesting to me. My interest is entirely in her and her personality. However, while I like her she isn’t dynamic enough to make her simply making a cake or cookies that much fun to watch. Gourmet Makes had a cool premise and Claire was the perfect host for it. Now, though, she doesn’t have the premise, and I honestly don’t even watch the videos anymore (even if YouTube recommends them all to me).
I guess in situations like these you realize just how much of a person you are a fan of, and how much you are a fan of the show they are on. I like Claire Saffitz. I bet her cookbook is great if you want to make desserts. However, apparently I don’t like her enough that I can watch her do anything, such as making desserts, and be entertained.
