Critic Reviews

Poehler and Offerman’s off-screen friendship translates to a wonderful on-screen dynamic that lends itself well to the sort of off-the-cuff riffing that speaks to both a deep bond and strong improvisational skills. As hosts, they bring an irreverence that keeps the tone light, positive, and natural.

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

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).

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

[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

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.