Making It

A drama-free competition that’s nonetheless suspenseful, Making It is the bear hug of a TV show we need right now. Offerman and Poehler have really put their stamp on the genre (pun obviously intended).

It brims with nice, talented people making impossibly crazy beautiful things. It’s charming and sweet and might just inspire you to make something.

[Amy Poehler's] good-natured touch and Offerman’s (with whom she shares an executive producer credit) permeate the production. They’re buds, with Offerman’s craftsman background balancing her gee-whiz appreciation but professed lack of skills. Throw in an emphasis on cameradie as opposed to competitive snark, and this adaptation of the “Bake Off” format works beautifully

In Poehler and Offerman, Making It has the funniest and most accomplished hosts a competition show could ask for, and it makes the most of them.

You would have to be a most grumpy, dour, negative, naysaying, stubbornly unhappy, anti-life sort of person to turn up your nose at NBC’s Making It. ... [Amy Poehler and Nick Offerman's] reactions to the work are often more interesting than that of the judges, who tend to be, you know, judgy; when the hosts weigh in, it feels spontaneous and heartfelt, as if they can't stop themselves.

The crafting competition hosted by Amy Poehler and Nick Offerman is a total joy, a cashmere-swaddled hug of a show that exudes geniality and zany warmth. If it had a scent, that scent would be fall leaves, cinnamon, and clean linen. Making It’s spirit animal is a golden retriever. Making It’s spirit animal is a golden retriever. It’s the kind of series that’s so irrepressibly comforting, so extremely absorbing, that it could only be summoned by a culture that’s sorely in need of relief.

As promised, they’ve made a show that makes you feel good. If for some reason you’re still not sure whether to watch or not, I’ll leave you with a final piece of Parks and Recreation–style advice: Go ahead, treat yo self.

Both [Amy Poehler and Nick Offerman] are upbeat and encouraging, and episodes include the two having dumb, wonderful pun-offs. ... A weekly dose of glitter and whimsy and some words of inspiration from Ms. Poehler and Mr. Offerman are completely and totally refreshing.

The pacing is brisk (there’s tension-building soundtrack music that sounds a lot like a Muzak version of Elvis Costello’s “Pump It Up”) and the cutaway segments with Poehler and Offerman are used to full advantage. ... Making It should strike a chord for viewers who love to work with their hands--or wish they possessed that talent.

It’s dorky, digestible fun, but the show ultimately lacks the thrills that keep viewers glued to GBBO.

Making It isn’t as heavy as you’d like but it does cut the clutter of talking heads and political spin. It’s very low-key. So low-key, in fact, you suspect someone will decide to use the felt to make the kind of puppets that populated “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.” Or a very special edition of “Ya Heard? With Perd!”

Making It, a crafting competition show premiering Tuesday on NBC, is so genuinely good-hearted and adorably inventive that it’s darn near impossible to criticize. ... For all its mutual happiness, Making It could pay a little more attention to the actual work that goes into the crafting and the wide range of personal styles shown by the contestants.