What is How It's Made about?

Have you ever wondered how the products you use every day are made? How It's Made leads you through the process of how everyday products, such as apple juice, skateboards, engines, contact lenses, and many more objects are manufactured.

How It's Made

Name: How It's Made
Genre: Documentary
Released: 2001-01-06
Rating: 7.6

TV Show TV-G 2001 30m/ep 7.6 /10 Canceled

A Discovery Original

Created by Gabriel Hoss

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Streaming availability last verified: January 16, 2026

About How It's Made

How It's Made takes ordinary objects and shows how they go from raw materials to finished products in clear, focused segments. Each episode strings together several short profiles, moving the camera through factories, labs, and workshops while a calm narrator points out key steps and machines. The show stays practical and literal, avoiding dramatics, so viewers see processes like molding, machining, assembly, and quality checks in real time. Episodes cover a wide mix, from food and consumer goods to mechanical parts and specialty items, giving a steady, matter-of-fact look at manufacturing without revealing surprises about people or plot outcomes.

Premiered in 2001, the series was created by Gabriel Hoss and presented as a straightforward documentary program. Its format favors concise, standalone segments that fit the television hour, which helped the show find a broad audience early on.

It hasn’t been a major awards magnet in the way scripted dramas are, but it has earned respect within factual programming circles for consistency and educational value. Rather than racking up trophies, its recognition comes from long runs and steady broadcaster interest.

The program’s hallmark is its visual clarity and methodical pace, which made the style instantly recognizable. Short, well-lit shots of machines and components, plus simple narration, turned routine industrial footage into something oddly satisfying. The format influenced similar documentary pieces and helped spark a steady stream of online clips and classroom use that highlight manufacturing basics.

Critical and viewer response tends to be positive, reflected in a solid average score around 7.6 out of 10 from public ratings. Reviewers and audiences appreciate the series for being informative, straightforward, and reliable, with recurring themes of engineering practice, materials science, efficiency, and the craftsmanship behind everyday items.

Details

Release Date: January 06, 2001
Episode Length: 30m
Rating: TV-G
User Ratings: 159 votes
Type: TV Series
Seasons: 32
Episodes: 416
Network: Discovery, Science
Status: Canceled
Genres: Documentary
Country: Canada
Studio: Productions MAJ +1 more
External Links: View on IMDB

Seasons (32 seasons, 416 episodes)

Season 1

13 episodes - 2001

Season 2

13 episodes - 2002

Season 3

13 episodes - 2003

Season 4

13 episodes - 2005

Season 5

13 episodes - 2005

Season 6

13 episodes - 2006

Season 7

13 episodes - 2006

Season 8

13 episodes - 2007

Season 9

13 episodes - 2008

Season 10

13 episodes - 2008

Season 11

13 episodes - 2008

Season 12

13 episodes - 2009

Season 13

13 episodes - 2009

Season 14

13 episodes - 2009

Season 15

13 episodes - 2010

Season 16

13 episodes - 2010

Season 17

13 episodes - 2011

Season 18

13 episodes - 2011

Season 19

13 episodes - 2012

Season 20

13 episodes - 2012

Season 21

13 episodes - 2013

Season 22

13 episodes - 2013

Season 23

13 episodes - 2014

Season 24

13 episodes - 2014

Season 25

13 episodes - 2015

Season 26

13 episodes - 2015

Season 27

13 episodes - 2016

Season 28

13 episodes - 2016

Season 29

13 episodes - 2017

Season 30

13 episodes - 2017

Season 31

13 episodes - 2018

Season 32

13 episodes - 2019

Frequently Asked Questions

How It's Made is available to stream on Max and Hulu. You can also rent or buy it on Apple iTunes, Google Play, and Amazon Video.

Yes, How It's Made is available to stream on Max.

Yes, you can buy on Apple iTunes, Google Play, and Amazon Video.

How It's Made has 32 seasons with a total of 416 episodes.

With a rating of 7.6/10 from 159 viewers, How It's Made is well-regarded and recommended by viewers.

How It's Made was created by Gabriel Hoss.

How It's Made was released on January 06, 2001.

How It's Made is a Documentary series.

How It's Made is filmed on location at factories and production plants, often traveling to facilities in different regions and countries to show real manufacturing operations. Episodes focus on the workplaces where each product is actually made rather than studio recreations.

The series spans 32 seasons and 416 episodes. Each episode covers multiple products and shows the step-by-step manufacturing process for each item.

The show covers a very wide range of everyday items, from food and consumer goods like apple juice and skateboards to technical products such as engines and contact lenses. Episodes mix commonplace objects with industrial or specialty items to illustrate different manufacturing techniques.

Yes, it's generally family-friendly and educational, focusing on how things are manufactured rather than sensational content. Parents may want to preview episodes for very young children, since some factory footage can show large machines or industrial processes that might be intense.