Critical Reaction and Reviews
The Los Angeles Times noted that the Travel Channel received its highest-ever ratings for a new debut with Man v. Food. They highlighted the show as an example of other networks moving in on the traditional turf of the Food Network.
In the Star-Ledger, television critic Alan Sepinwall wrote, "It ain't deep, and it certainly ain't healthy (I could feel my arteries clog just from watching), but it's fun."
Features reporters Thomas Rozwadowski of the Green Bay Press-Gazette said that "playfully eager host Adam Richman has won me over" and that "it's all in good fun."
CityPages Minneapolis/St. Paul describes the show, "...like the food version of Jackass, with host Adam Richman as its very own Steve-O."
Christopher Lawrence of the Las Vegas Review-Journal describes Richman as "impressive" and "likable" saying "think a beefier Fred Savage, although one who somehow weighs less than he did last season."
Jonathan Bernstein of British newspaper The Guardian described "mixed feelings" about the series saying he likes "the concept" and "the guy" but that the challenges make him "a little uneasy".
Charlie Brooker, also of The Guardian, was largely critical of the show's celebration of excess, stating "if food is the new porn, this is an all-out orgy between wobbling gutsos and farmyard animals – a snuff orgy, no less, since the latter end up sawn in half and smothered in BBQ sauce."
Alton Brown, host of the food science show Good Eats, was also critical of the show, calling Man v. Food "disgusting," stating: "That show is about gluttony, and gluttony is wrong. It's wasteful. Think about people that are starving to death and think about that show. I think it's an embarrassment."
Read more about this topic: Man V. Food
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