The Guardian - Escape from the City: is there a more compelling and frustrating TV show?

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Escape from the City: is there a more compelling and frustrating TV show?

Link [2022-02-16 14:33:41]

Couples are shown around lovely houses they almost never buy in a lifestyle show that makes for enjoyable, if painful viewing as Australian property prices skyrocket

Escape from the City is available to stream on iView. For more recommendations of what to stream in Australia, click here

Escape from the City may seem like a benign lifestyle show, but no other program is more frustrating in its ability to create tension while failing to provide release. There’s rarely an episode where I haven’t felt compelled to throw something at the screen by the end. But yet – I keep coming back for more.

There are 60 episodes of this ABC property program (some are available on iView), all shot and produced between 2017 and 2020 in a variety of regional towns across Australia. Each episode follows an urban family or individual wanting to make a sea or tree change to “escape from the city”. The episodes follow a strict formula (borrowed from the UK’s Escape to the Country), where one of the show’s five presenters introduces the guests to four houses (including one mystery house, designed to surprise). The suspense builds for an hour – until the end of the episode when the buyer then decides which house they want.