Television series
Building Off the Grid
- Action
- Light-hearted
Building Off the Grid follows architect Michael Reynolds and his team as they construct radical self-sufficient homes called Earthships that operate entirely off-grid. It's practical, visually satisfying, and genuinely ambitious—watching ingenious systems come together in hostile environments. For people drawn to sustainability, DIY ethics, and the fantasy of architectural independence.
Should you watch it?
Watch it if you enjoy watching a build unfold from raw dirt, the sweaty logistics of packed-tire walls and improvised fixes, and you don't mind a streak of stubborn idealism in the person swinging the hammer.
Skip it if you want a tidy, instructional build where every decision is explained calmly; this one is a scramble against weather and the clock.
What it asks of you: Each episode runs about an hour and the story builds through slow accumulation on site, so settle in for an unhurried stretch across a very long run.
Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.
If you liked this
Tiny House Nation2014
Same utopian energy—creators building radical domestic spaces from scratch, solving real problems with design. Equally absorbing footage of construction, equally infectious enthusiasm about reimagining how we live.
But Leans harder into emotional backstory than technical detail. If you're here for the systems, not the sob story, it can feel slow.
Grand Designs1999
Kevin McCloud's architectural documentary series captures exactly this: ambitious people attempting extraordinary builds against weather, budget, and their own ambition. Grander scope, far more elegant failure.
But British pacing and aesthetic distance. If you want cheerful problem-solving, not quiet anxiety about whether the build survives, this isn't it.
Get Organized with The Home Edit2020
Different scale but same DNA: systems-thinking applied to domestic space, watching chaos become elegant order, before-and-after satisfaction that never gets old.
But Focuses on organizing existing stuff, not building. If you want real construction stakes, this is too frictionless.
Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Building Off the Grid
The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
Stalker1979
Both treat shelter and isolation as metaphysical questions, not just practical ones. Off-grid isn't just about survival—it's about what you become when you step outside the system.
Andrei Tarkovsky's sci-fi masterpiece about a guide leading people through a mysterious zone to find a room that grants wishes. Obsessed with space, desire, and what we build (or seek) to change our lives. Hypnotic.
But Soviet, three-hour philosophical film with barely any plot. If you want action or clarity, it's maddening.
More like this (6)
Queer Eye2018
Shares the deep satisfaction of transforming a space and a life in a compressed timeline. The Fab Five attack problems methodically; the emotional payoff is genuine.
But It's about acceptance and self-worth, not engineering. The DIY is means to an end, not the point.
Mythbusters2003
Same appetite for testing ideas and solving problems methodically. Chaotic energy, real stakes, people genuinely curious about how things work.
But Scattershot format—bounces between unrelated ideas. Building Off the Grid has narrative momentum; this is episodic puzzle-boxes.
Salvage Hunters2011
Drew Pritchard hunts for materials and repurposes them into new designs. Shares the ethos of using what exists to build something better and stranger.
But Antiques-focused and slow. The building happens off-camera; you're mostly watching the hunt.
Ask This Old House2002
Practical renovation wisdom from master builders. Same tone of expertise applied to real problems, solving them elegantly with available resources.
But Episodic and distributed—each fix is a separate story. No overarching narrative momentum like a single Earthship build.
Koyaanisqatsi1983
Earthships are a direct philosophical answer to Koyaanisqatsi's diagnosis. Reynolds is attempting to show the alternative to the life-out-of-balance the film documents.
Ron Fricke's wordless visual essay on industrialization, consumption, and human systems. Hypnotic time-lapse and drone footage of how we build and live. No dialogue, just rhythm and revelation.
But Abstract and slow with zero narrative. Some find it pretentious; most find it challenging to sit through.
My Octopus Teacher2020
Both are about stepping outside human convention to learn—one through building off the grid, one through observing an alien intelligence. Both suggest the good life requires unlearning.
Documentary about a filmmaker who spends a year with an octopus in a South African kelp forest. Meditative, visual, about learning to live differently by watching another creature's systems and intelligence.
But Deliberately quiet and slow. If you want narrative momentum or clear stakes, it's elliptical and oblique.
