Because you won't watch a dry boring show about the Ming Dynasty, but you will watch Rick Harrigan wheeze laugh about a counter offer for an 1835 pistol.
They could at least try to combine it. Reality show about how 20 people and see if they could live like ancient Romans or something.
Or see how hard it would be to make one of the wonders of the world with today’s technology.
As a history major who took a few classes on Chinese history, I would find a show about the Ming Dynasty to be exciting and intellectually stimulating.