Stardew Valley has some of the wildest fan theories out there, from Linus' secret wealth to a secret war between the Dwarves and Shadow People. What makes the mysteries in Stardew Valley so intriguing is that many of them have a solid amount of evidence supporting them. Some video game fan theories can often require a lot of assumptions and looking past things that otherwise prove said theories wrong. Stardew Valley theories, however, actually tend to connect some interesting dots to fill in the gaps of the game's otherwise detailed lore.
A slightly more obscure Stardew Valley theory examines one of the television shows that the player can watch each day. "Livin' Off the Land" is a show that gives players a new farming tip every day for two in-game years. As the days go on, "Livin' Off the Land" gives more advanced tips that evolve with the player's understanding of the game's mechanics. After two years, however, the host of "Livin' Off the Land" announces his retirement and that the network will air reruns from that point on.
The unnamed host of "Livin' Off the Land" is the focus of a handful of different theories, with many players speculating on his identity and whether or not he's a character that players see in-game. One of the more wild and heartwarming theories is that he's the player's grandfather. What makes this theory wild is that he passes away at the start of the game and gifts the player his old farm as inheritance, hoping that it'll give them a new view on life.
This fan theory isn't saying that the player's grandpa is hosting "Livin' Off the Land" as a ghost. It's instead of making the case that every episode that the player watches has always been a rerun, which means that the player's grandpa has been giving them farming advice from beyond the grave. It's an incredibly sweet theory that players have found quite a few in-game details that might suggest it's true, namely the content of the show itself.
When it comes to farming knowledge, there really isn't anyone who matches the player's grandpa's level of expertise. Not only does he have a reputation in Stardew Valley for being a great farmer, but he's also capable of reviewing the player's farming progress from beyond the grave. At the dawn of the game's third year, grandpa's ghost appears to assess the player's farm on several criteria, including how much they've earned, their skills and how many different items they've shipped from their farm.
The host of "Livin' Off the Land" gives tips and advice on various topics, from fishing to farming. He even gives the viewers life advice, such as what steps they'll need to take to get married. While other characters certainly help the player with similar advice, the player's grandpa is the only one with anywhere near the same wide range of expertise that the host of "Livin' Off the Land" has. Another point that many fans bring up is how similar the host and Grandpa look.
It's possible to see what the host of "Livin' Off the Land" looks like, as larger TVs in-game will show his sprite. While the player only sees their grandpa from behind on his death bed and as a ghost, there are still a couple of noteworthy similarities between the two. The host and Grandpa have bushy eyebrows, a long mustache and a fairly similar head shape. While the host of "Livin' Off the Land" lacks Grandpa's bushy beard, that could easily be explained as an age difference.
Fans also point to some evidence suggesting that the episodes of "Livin' Off the Land" are reruns from the very start. For one, the host never says anything to date his episodes, outside of some generic seasonal tips that would still make sense if they were aired a year later. He doesn't comment on any events in the game's story or from the past, which opens the possibility that the episodes are already reruns.
Outside of the tips and the static sprite used to represent the show in-game, there isn't a ton of details to examine regarding "Livin' Off the Land," though this fan theory certainly could still work. It would make Stardew Valley's story that much more heartwarming if the person who had been guiding the player throughout their exploration into farming had been their grandpa all along. While the "proof" for this theory may be light, it's one of those theories that will find a place in people's Stardew Valley headcanon.