Web Video / BuzzFeed Worth It

"Food is the ultimate cultural touchpoint. Anybody can relate to it."

— Steven Lim

Worth It, launched in September of 2016, was BuzzFeed's "flagship food show", starring BuzzFeed video producers Steven Lim and Andrew Ilnyckyj (Keith Habersberger of The Try Guys originally co-hosted the program with Steven, but was replaced by Andrew after two episodes due to scheduling conflicts). The program also features video producer Adam Bianchi, who served as the show's cinematographer and sometimes sound tech.

Each episode follows the "Worth It Boys" as they try three iterations of a type of food or beverage (e.g. pizza, donuts, cocktails) at three price points (affordable, middle-tier, and luxury) to decide which is "the most worth it at its given price". Most of the featured restaurants have been located in the greater Los Angeles area, where BuzzFeed is based, although the gang has taken single- and multi-episode trips to other locations, such as their consecutive three-episode trips to Australia and Japan at the end of the third season.

The series has spawned the spin-off "Worth It-Lifestyle", which features Steven and other members of the Buzzfeed video production staff and follows the same formula of the food show but with lifestyle items and services such as sneakers and massages being reviewed. It also has a UK spin-off as well. Steven eventually left Buzzfeed to form Watcher with Ryan and Shane from BuzzFeed Unsolved, but continued to appear on the show. In November 2021, Season 10 of Worth It premiered on Andrew's new YouTube Channel, About to Eat. In 2023, it was announced that Season 12 would be the final season of Worth It, with the final episode released in April the same year.

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Trope fact!

• And Your Reward Is Edible:
  • Keith and Andrew both agreed to go on adventures with Steven after it was mentioned that they would eat food.
  • Adam gets to eat the food at the end of every stop after spending all his time filming Steven and Andrew eating.
• Arc Words/Catchphrase: At the beginning of every episode ("Today on Worth It, we are going to try three different [name of food] at three drastically different price points to find out which one is the most worth it at its price.") and at the end when one of them asks the others which meal was their Worth It Winner. This is usually asked by Steven, going so far that he interrupted Andrew once he started saying it.
• Audience Surrogate: Adam serves as the Audience Surrogate through most of the show, since he is mainly behind the camera and we see Steven and Andrew's "food adventures" through his Point of View.
• Being Personal Isn't Professional: Out of the two of them, Steven is more openly affectionate than Andrew. This has been something Andrew called Steven out on several times, especially in the earlier episodes and when they were in fancier locations.
  • However, Andrew becomes noticeably softer and more affectionate as the series goes on, to the point of crafting a "welcome home" episode for Steven at the beginning of season 5.
• Big Eater/Running Gag: Adam eats a bite of every tried food after Steven and Andrew did. He usually takes the largest bites or eats the leftovers, sometimes even receiving his own dish that is bigger than the others' servings. This is also constantly noted on throughout the show.
• Brain Freeze: This happens to Steven in the Ice Cream Episode.
• Call-Back: Early on in the Wine Episode, Andrew tries to convince Steven that their driver told them "up yours" is another way of saying "cheers" in Australia. Later on in the episode, when cheers-ing their wine, Steven says "up yours", causing Andrew to dissolve into a fit of laughter.
  • The very last episode naturally has some call backs to the first, but with the role reversal of Andrew being the one to invite Steven on a food adventure. That's Character Development, folks!
• The Cameo: By complete accident. The crew runs into Andrew Rea during the Season 5 finale on a trip between locations.
• Comfort Food/Trademark Favourite Food:
  • Andrew's favourite food is pizza, with the show currently featuring two Pizza Episodes (one in Los Angeles and one in New York). The Los Angeles Episode is Andrew's debut episode. In the New York Episode Andrew even returns to his Worth It Winner of the episode and their first stop (Joe's Pizza) after saying he wants a "dessert pizza". He also really likes pickles.
  • Steven's food of choice is Sushi and Worth It's first episode naturally revolved around it.
• Conspicuous Consumption: Literally! The 'luxury'-tier foods in each episode often include gold, caviar, truffles and other fancy ingredients. This has started to become less common as the seasons go on.
• Cooking Stories:
  • Essentially what the show is about!
  • At every stop in every episode, the chefs of the restaurants share the history of their restaurant and explain what food they cook and serve.
• Defrosting Ice Queen: How much of it was 'for the bit' is hard to say, but Andrew appears to be a rare male version. In early episodes he is determinedly grumpy in the face of Steven's keet personality, but over the course of the show viewers can watch them develop a genuine friendship.
• Designated Driver: Except on a few occasions, Steven can be found behind the wheel when they drive to locations.
• Early-Installment Weirdness: Steven's been host of the show since the beginning, but Andrew and Adam only joined in the third episode of the first season.
• The Face: Steven. In addition to doing a lot of the talking in the show, he arguably boasts the largest social media presence.
• Fancy Dinner: The third location in every episode, since it is also the most expensive one. The only exception the Taco episode, where they started with the most expensive and ended with the cheapest.
• Food Porn: Not only do we see the Worth It Boys eating, we also see their dishes being created, serving some major Food Porn.
• Freudian Trio: A Power Trio consisting of two foils and the one balancing them out:
  • The Id/ The Mccoy: Being the most emotive of the three Steven would be considered the ID. It is also noteworthy that in the case of Worth It the Id i.e. Steven is the leader, which is usually not the default.
  • The Superego/ The Spock: Working as Steven's foil and as the less emotive and more somber and reasonable one Andrew would be the Superego.
  • The Ego/ The Kirk: As the glue to hold them all together and the one to balance the other two out Adam is the Ego of the trio.
• Gentle Giant/ The Napoleon: Steven and Andrew respectively. (See Ham and Deadpan Duo)
• Giant Food:
  • The cake Steven ordered at the last location in the Cake Episode. It was so big that it was shared around the Buzzfeed office.
  • Downplayed with the 3-foot long Anaconda Burrito from the Burrito Episode.
• Ham and Deadpan Duo: Bubbly, enthusiastic Steven is the former, while straight-faced, snarky Andrew is the latter.
• The Heart: Steven and Andrew mention throughout the show that Adam is the part of the trio that keeps them together.
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: Steven and Andrew spend several months a year working on the show. Their friendship has been visibly growing over the course of that time, with Andrew becoming more affectionate himself, reciprocating Steven's proclamations and acts of affection.
• Like an Old Married Couple: Steven and Andrew bicker a lot on the show, mainly about the food they eat or the other's behaviour. Also the longer the show runs, the more comfortable they are around each other (Heterosexual Life-Partners).
  • At the beginning of the Bacon Episode:
    Andrew: I can't believe you chose that apron.
    Steven: [addressing the viewers] Comment below who wore it better.
    Andrew: I think that the answer is pretty clear.
    Steven: Oh, yeah?
    Andrew: Yeah.
• Mountain of Food: They eat a vast amount of food in one sitting several times throughout the show. As seen in the Brunch Episode and in the Superbowl Episode.
  • The last stop in the French Fries episode features a massive bowl of poutine. The restaurant makes it to order and none of the Worth It Boys can believe a man once ate one in 22 minutes.
• Nice Mean And In Between: Steven is nice, Andrew is relatively mean and Adam is in-between.
• Opposites Attract: The show, and their interactions, thrives on Steven and Andrew's different personalities.
• Perfectly Cromulent Word: In the Japanese Sushi Episode, Steven introduces the episode as Worth It Japan part "deu-ois" (a combination of the French words "deux" and "trois", which Andrew is quick to point out to him).
• Pun: More than being the Deadpan Snarker, Andrew loves his food puns and word plays. As a direct result, Steven's pun game noticeably improves over the course of the show, to Andrew's delight.
• The Quiet One: Adam rarely speaks and even when he does, his voice is pretty soft, usually being accompanied by subtitles.
• Reaction Shot: Adam doesn't usually say much about the food they try, but has quite expressive body language.
• Rule of Three: Every episode they try three different meals at three different price points. Season Three included three episodes in Australia (Seafood, Steak, Wine) and three episodes in Japan (Coffee, Cake, Ramen). The show also obviously centers around Andrew, Adam and Steven, who call themselves The Three Musketeers.
• Running Gag: Whenever Andrew and Steven attempt to pronounce something in a foreign language, Andrew pronounces it better, much to Steven's annoyance.
• The Smart Guy: While Steven and Andrew both contributed to the Facts Section of the episodes in the beginning, Andrew more and more became the one to read out most of them, sharing trivia with Adam and Steven about the food they eat.
• Sir Swears-a-Lot/Obligatory Swearing: Andrew curses plenty on the show, especially when something tastes really good, while Steven tries not to. He only swore on a few occasions, for example the Wine Episode when trying the meat at the second stop.
• Sixth Ranger: Annie joins the trio in the sixth season, working with Adam in recording and sound. She's even more of The Quiet One than Adam. Rie McClenny and Inga Lam are also brought along as translators and guides when traveling to Japanese- and Chinese-speaking locales, respectively.
• Sommelier Speak: Steven and Andrew always describe the food they eat in picturesque ways, relying heavily on the adjectives.
• Tastes Like Friendship: While initially reluctant to come on a "food adventure" with Steven in his debut episode (although this may have just been a part of his curmudgeonly persona), Andrew comes to form a close bond with Steven over the course of the show.
• Took a Level in Kindness: Andrew's change in attitude over the course of the show. Also seen in the Brunch Episode, where he goes from opposing the idea of Brunch to proclaiming that he loves it at the end of their third restaurant.
• True Companions: Andrew, Adam and Steven's friendship is the heart of the show, with it being constantly brought up that they are a trio and not a duo.
• Unconventional Smoothie: In the Vegan Food Episode, Andrew notes that the green smoothie they're drinking is different and better than the ones he had before.
• The Unwitting Comedian: Adam's appearances are usually some of the most comedic moments in the show although he isn't trying to be funny.
• Wine Is Classy: The Worth It Boys became real Fancy Boys in the Wine Episode.
• Work Hard, Play Hard: In the Australian Steak Episode, Adam downs a whole pint when neither Andrew or Steven could. In contrast to that, Adam's main purpose on the show is being the video producer and the sound tech.