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Wholesome TV shows are hard to find nowadays, sadly. But don’t despair I’ve got you covered in this list! Our core American family values have been eroded by mainstream media and all its sensationalist glory; however, there are a few “good” shows to be viewed.
When I say “good,” I mean wholesome, conservative-value laden ones with a healthy smattering of good dialogue, grounded characters, and especially values of hard work and intelligence. TV shows CAN be fun, uplifting, and engaging while at the same time espousing traditional core American (and European) values.
1. Barnwood Builders
“Last log!” is one of the shows calling cards. It signifies that the last log is about to be set in the building of a traditional timber-frame, hand-hewn barn in this quintessentially witty and thoroughly-addicting show.
Run by Mark Bowe and his crew from West Virginia, the Barnwood Builders crew make it their mission to preserve our lost pioneer architecture by reclaiming, repurposing, and rebuilding log cabins and other pre-19th century American structures.
The crew consists of Mark Bowe (the witty and pun-filled leader), Johnny Jett (the forklift and teardown master), Sherman Thompson (crew leader and the voice of the workflow), Tim Rose (the voice behind the “last log” holler), Graham Ferguson (the young buck and homesteader), and Alex Webb (the notching expert and turn-of-phrase master).
Also a part of the crew as one of the Barnwood Builder’s contracted truckers is Mark Battle, the man whose personality never sleeps. He is so hilarious that he has to be included in the BB’s lineup along with the regular crew.
You can watch Barnwood Builders on the DIY Network. The show has been on air since 2013 and has produced over 100 episodes so far.
2. Moonshiners
Originally aired in 2011, Moonshiners has become a phenomenon for all the right reasons. Created to provide a comprehensive behind-the-scenes look into the life of illegal whiskey makers in the South, the show has accomplished much more than that.
What makes the show Moonshiners so special is how it highlights the core values of hard work, ingenuity, and the independent American spirit! It also brings to life a particular regional perspective that is not often appreciated: Southern culture.
As someone with Southern roots, and even a connection to some of the Moonshiners themselves, I would argue that the show is actually less about the art of making moonshine and more about the PEOPLE who make it. That’s where its value lies as one of our 10 wholesome TV shows.
Moonshiners is witty, fun, dramatic, and best of all portrays people who protect their heritage and family in everything they do. Another very important central theme is how the moonshiners handle adversity and push through it with energy and candor. For me, it’s also about the regional dialects and cool Southern accents! “Yeah buddy!”
You can watch Moonshiners on The Discovery Channel. There are numerous full episodes available to stream on Discovery Go or On Demand on your local cable network.
3. American Pickers
American Pickers consists of the dynamic duo of Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz, two best friends who have known each other forever and are the ultimate go-getter collectors! The two travel across America in search of “rusty gold” and then sell their stuff in one of their two stores. One in LeClaire, Iowa and the other in Nashville, Tennessee – which I’ve actually visited! Woohoo!
Also featured on the show is the intelligent and intriguing Danielle Colby who is the hub that holds together all of the cogs in the logistical machine that is the American Pickers phenomenon. Without her the guys would be wandering aimlessly – which, honestly, they don’t seem to mind as a thing they call “freestyling.”
You wouldn’t be a true American Pickers fan if you didn’t also include Mike’s older brother Robbie Wolfe who makes occasional cameos on the show filling in on the road.
Realistically, there is no better inside look into the heart and soul of America than American Pickers! None! If you want to know what wholesome Americans are all about, you have to get out and talk to them just like Mike and Frank.
The show represents America’s true demographics!
Catch episodes of American Pickers on the History Channel. The show is in its 21st season, believe it or not and has aired over 300 episodes!
4. Holmes Makes It Right
What can you say about Mike Holmes? He’s not only the guy we always wanted to inspect and protect our home, he’s also Mr. Spinoff! According to his Wikipedia bio, Mike Holmes has 10 different TV shows, not including his judging and hosting spinoffs. He’s surely “constructed” his career right.
Why is Mike Holmes on this list of 10 Wholesome TV Shows? Well, if you’ve ever watched one of his shows, you’d know. Mike Holmes cares about people and cares deeply about craftsmanship; he espouses a view of hard work, intelligence, and helping others.
Mike Holmes is also all about family. His 3 children are regular fixtures (no pun intended) on the show and it seems that Mike Jr. is well on his way to be the next king of construction with a conscious.
Just for fun, here’s a list of all of the Mike Holmes shows (some you have heard of, some you may not have):
- Holmes on Homes
- Holmes in New Orleans
- Holmes Inspection
- Best of Holmes on Homes
- Holmes Makes It Right (my other fav Holmes show)
- Mike’s Ultimate Garage
- Holmes and Holmes
- Holmes: Buy It Right (another cool one)
- Holmes Makes It Right: Retooled
- Holmes 911
- Handyman Challenge (judge)
- Home Free (judge)
If you want to see how Mike Holmes has been one of the best surname branding icons of all time, most of his shows are on the DIY Network. But wait, there’s more, you can also catch his episodes on HGTV.
5. Lark Rise to Candleford
I was first intrigued by the name, it was almost taunting me to tune in and find out what “Lark Rise to Candleford” meant. Then I became enchanted by its characters; and then I was hooked! I’m sure I wasn’t the first victim to fall to the Lark Rise and Candleford names.
Although I did not start watching this show until 2018 (10 years after it first aired), it was such a beautifully-scripted series that embodied all of what it meant to be “wholesome” that it has stuck with me ever since. And now it’s making my list.
Set in the 1800s (19th century) in England in the county of Oxfordshire (west and slightly north of London), Lark Rise and Candleford are two separate towns with two separate identities and folkways. To be more accurate, Lark Rise is a village consisting of a few houses and local families who have contributed some of the populace of the larger, more modern Candleford town.
This is where the tension of the show lies. The names of “Lark Rise” and “Candleford” are almost like an epigraph for the central theme of the show: traditional values versus modern ideas. That is why I love the show so much is because it explores the conservative view of preserving our heritage in the face of unguarded change.
The show stars Dorcas Lane (the postmistress), Laura Timmins (and the Timmins parents Robert and Emma), Alf Arless (as the strapping young man), Twister and Queenie Turrill (the muses of Lark Rise), Thomas Brown, the awesome Minnie Mude, and lest we forget the unforgettable sisters Pearl and Ruby Pratt.
Lark Rise to Candleford is currently syndicated on random TV channels, depending on local listings. It is available to stream on Amazon Prime if you want to binge watch it – and you should.
6. Star Trek: The Next Generation
When Star Trek: The Next Generation (or Star Trek: TNG) first aired I was just a kid in 1987. I had actually been watching Star Trek TOS (The Original Series) as far back as I can remember and initially found this new version somewhat off-putting if I’m honest.
However, the more I watched the more I realized what made this version of Star Trek different, versus anything else on TV at the time, because it was INTELLIGENT! The crew was looking for intelligent life, and so was I.
Above and beyond being excellent family-friendly television, Star Trek: TNG always had an undercurrent of very palatable teachable moments threaded throughout its story lines. There were lessons for life and mentoring characters for any young person to look up to.
As a young chap I also learned some cool vocabulary on this iteration of Star Trek such as the word anthropomorphize. In Season 2, episode 15 entitled “Pen Pals” (still a fav of mine) Captain Picard uses that word when talking with Counselor Troi in one of the more intellectual dialogues in TV history – it was linguistic pragmatics brilliance.
The well-rounded characters from Captain Picard to Data to Geordi LaForge, to Troi to Riker to the Crushers (Wesley and Dr Beverley) and all the rest is what makes Star Trek: TNG a stellar case for wholesome TV shows. Thank you Gene Roddenberry!
I’m sure Star Trek: The Next Generation is airing somewhere in the world at just about any time. However, if you want to find out more information, you should visit the Star Trek Memory Alpha site.
7. M*A*S*H
If you didn’t know, M*A*S*H stands for ‘Mobile Army Surgical Hospital.’ Set during the Korean War conflict, MASH delivers a healthy dose of wit, sarcasm, and personal drama. The show itself, over its 11 seasons, went through several iterations as several key characters came and went; however, through it all were Hawkeye Pierce (Alan Alda) and Margaret “Hot Lips” Houlihan (Loretta Swit) who appeared regularly on every episode.
Amazingly, there were other characters that spanned the entire 11 seasons of MASH. Father Mulcahy’s character was a regular fixture, but was only played by William Christopher late in season 1. Max Klinger (Jamie Farr) also appeared in all 11 seasons, although only starting out as a recurring character early on in season 1. Finally, and perhaps most underratedly (if that’s a word), was Nurse Kellye Yamato played by the amazingly talented, and eponymous, Kellye Nakahara.
What started out as a frat-style gag show filled with puns and party caricatures, MASH slowly morphed into a thought-provoking examination of the human condition while at the same time maintaining a subtle witty counterbalance. That transition took 4 seasons and was signaled by the arrival of Colonel Potter (Harry Morgan) and Charles Emerson Winchester III (David Ogden Stiers).
The ideal that embodies the MASH spirit the best is “work hard and play hard.” The doctors and staff on the show were always there when the call of duty came; however, they knew how to blow off steam in a creative and impressively goofy way.
M*A*S*H is always on somewhere! It is one of the longest-running syndicated shows in history. Check your local listings such as MASH on MeTV or on Amazon Prime or Hulu.
8. Columbo
Why would a crime show make a 10 wholesome TV shows list you might ask? Well, its because of the way in which Lieutenant Columbo’s character was portrayed by actor Peter Falk.
Columbo was intelligent, persistent, and held mastery over a seemingly long-lost art: the ability to know when to speak and when not speak (when to reveal your hand and when not to). Call it brinksmanship, call it brevity, call it whatever you like but Lieutenant Columbo espouses the focus of will and mind that makes a subset of our nation so great.
It’s not about being flashy and quick to ramble off a string of rhetorical garbage that so often permeates our music and athletic culture; it’s about being reticent when you need to and not letting anything rattle or unnerve you as you face any challenge that life throws at you. Even more than that, Columbo shows us that we can intelligently and calculatingly voice our opinion in the thrust and parry of verbal reparté.
Lieutenant Columbo was almost diabolical himself in his attempt to catch the diabolical criminals he was after. However, he always valued and listened intently to what others had to say, and as the following quote illustrates, was a humanitarian, because Columbo was humble.
And I’ll tell you something else. Even with some of
Columbo: Season 7, Episode 1 “Try & Catch Me”
the murderers that I meet, I even like them, too. Sometimes like them and even respect them. Not for what they did, certainly not for that, but for that part of them which is intelligent, or funny or just nice. Because there’s niceness in everyone.
The adventures and antics of Lieutenant Columbo are available on TV as well as streaming online. MeTV hosts Columbo regularly as do a few other network stations. MeTV usually plays entire episodes unlike other channels which edit out chunks to fit their programming times – it’s a good thing to be aware of!
9. Maine Cabin Masters
Maine Cabin Masters has been a fun and heartwarming show for me to watch for some time now. The show is centered around the Kennebec Cabin Company based in Manchester, Maine. While primarily a DIY show, the charm of this series comes in the personalities of the cabin masters and the families they help.
The Maine Cabin Masters centers around lead builder Chase Morrill, designer Ashley Morrill Eldridge (his hottie sister), and her do-it-all husband Ryan Eldridge. Also appearing on episodes are carpenters Matt Dix (“Dixie”) and Jared Baker (“Jedi”). Together they plan renovations of mostly rural cabins in the remote areas of Maine’s many lakes and interior waterways.
One comment that I heard on the show kind of floored me, and that was that that the state of Maine actually has more coastline than California! What a whopper! I can see why they are so busy.
This wholesome TV show is predominated by their combined infectious personalities and design skills. The Cabin Masters deliver beautiful, yet practical, renovations to their clients. What is nice about this show is that the designs and the people they are designing for are not blinged-out hooligans and shallow consumers, but families who enjoy the peace and serenity that their state has to offer.
You can watch the Maine Cabin Masters show on the DIY Network. The show has been on air since 2016 and will be going into its 6th season in 2021. I love this show, it’s funny, cultural, and certainly features the excellence of American craftsmanship and upcycling.
10. Dirty Jobs
Dirty Jobs with the inimitable Mike Rowe! There’s only one Mike Rowe and he hosts one of the coolest shows ever produced; it’s not simply cool because of the crazy things he’s forced to do, it’s truly cool because of his wit and the real-life people we get to meet.
If you want to talk about wholesome TV shows, this is it! This show is about American pride at work, about our industriousness, our foundation as a family-centered nation.
The show Dirty Jobs is currently in syndication as it ran from 2003 until 2012. All these years later it is still timeless in many ways. However, don’t despair! There’s a new version called “Dirty Jobs: Rowe’d Trip” premiering in 2020.
Mike Rowe doesn’t let anything get to him. No situation is too dirty or mucky for him. With a self-effacing attitude and a quick turn of phrase, Mike Rowe tells it like it is and represents the gut and stolidness of the everyday worker. We grit and grind, and at the end of a long day it’s all for our families.
This new series Dirty Jobs: Rowe’d Trip is on Discovery. You can also watch all of the back episodes and seasons of the original Dirty Jobs on Discovery Go.
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