Wait, there’s a Great American Baking Show?
Yes, baking fans, this series which features Paul Hollywood, Prue Leith, hosts Casey Wilson (Happy Endings) and Zach Cherry (Severance) and currently has three seasons and multiple specials, can be found on The Roku Channel.
In mid-August, the series dropped its “Celebrity Summer” special featuring Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Modern Family), Yara Shahidi (Grown-ish), June Diane Raphael (How Did This Get Made? Podcast), and Andrew Rannells (Girls).
“Celebrity Summer” follows the recipe of other Baking Show/Bake-Off celebrity episodes — a healthy dose of lighthearted humor from the guests, gaffs from amateur bakers, the mandatory Paul Hollywood jokes, breezy banter between the hosts, and the surprise that one of these celebs is actually really good at baking.
Yet, what makes this special different from the others is the natural, lived-in chemistry between the guests, and with host, Casey Wilson. Usually, these specials feel a little stiff as the contestants don’t often have great rapport, and most of their humor involves the host/judges or asides they throw to camera.
In “Celebrity Summer” there’s way more interaction and the spirit of friendly competition is high. Rannells and Ferguson establish their past via the theater, and their dynamic fuels so much of the humor of the episode. Meanwhile, the best friend vibes between Raphael and Wilson, who wrote Bride Wars together, bolsters the vibes coming from Rannells, Shahidi and Ferguson’s baking stations.
The Great American Baking Show: Celebrity Summer is a delightful appetizer for those who may not be familiar with the regular Roku series. Does it break new ground? No. Does it need to? Absolutely not. It also serves as a pre-game for the return of the main series on Netflix. (If you’re a diehard Baking Showing fan, the Canadian version of the series is also on Roku).
The Great American Baking Show: Celebrity Summer is now streaming on Roku.
