The Big Family Cooking Showdown Season 3 - What We Know So Far
Through two seasons, The Big Family Cooking Showdown has tried to replicate the casual, friendly vibe of The Great British Bake Off. The series is a competition between a number of families who attempt to cook meals together as a team. Those meals are then judged, and the judges ultimately determine who has survived the week and who will be heading home.
It's a winning formula that replicates much of the success of Bake Off, allowing you to root for your favorites without being heartbroken if they happen to go home. Thus far, the show has been on for two seasons, with the second season hitting Netflix in 2019.
Now that the show's second season has been out for several years, there are many who are wondering whether a third season of the show will be produced, and, if it is, who will be tapped to host and what the show's format will look like. Here's what we know so far.
What's the release date for season 3 of The Big Family Cooking Showdown?
A third season of The Big Family Cooking Showdown is unlikely to happen, as the show has been canceled by its British producers at BBC Two. The show made its debut in the U.K. in August of 2017, and aired its second season in October of 2018. The second season featured a largely retooled format, and viewership numbers fell below expectations. As a result, the show was canceled.
As was the case with The Great British Bake-Off and many other British TV shows, it's possible that Netflix, which hosts the show in America, will swoop in to produce future seasons of the series. Netflix clearly understands the value of cooking and baking shows to its overall lineup, and while the show's live viewership numbers may not have been great, it's possible that the viewership data that Netflix is getting is telling a different story. Still, Netflix's decision to pick up the series is far from a sure thing.
Who would the hosts of season 3 of The Big Family Cooking Showdown be?
Between the first and second seasons, The Big Family Cooking Showdown went through some major changes, and that included a complete overhaul of the people responsible for hosting and judging the competition. In the first season, the show was hosted by Bake Off winner Nadiya Hussein and Zoe Ball. The show was judged by Michelin starred chef, Giorgia Locatelli, and cookery teacher, Rosemary Shranger.
In the second season, all four of those people did not return to the show. Instead, Celebrity MasterChef winner Angelica Bell judged the show alongside Michelin starred chef Tommy Banks, and the two also served as hosts in the series.
Given how unlikely a third season is, it seems like if the show came back, it would likely be retooled again. If a third season ever happens, there's a decent chance that it will feature a new set of hosts and judges.
What will the challenges be in season 3 of The Big Family Cooking Showdown?
In addition to changing out its lineup of hosts and judges, The Big Family Cooking Showdown also changed up its format for the second season. In the first season, the challenges that the final teams had to complete were: the £10 Challenge, which required them to cook on a budget; the Home Visits Challenge, where they cooked a meal in their own homes; and the Impress the Neighbours Challenge, where they could cook whatever they wanted without a budget.
In season 2, The £10 Challenge remained, but it wasn't pre-prepared like it was in season 1. Season 2 also had four total rounds, and the other three were all brand new. In the Nation's Favourite with a Twist Challenge, they had to cook a popular dish with their own personal flair. In the Head-to-Head Challenge, they had to nominate one member of their family to cook alone against another family's representative. And in the final challenge, they had to cook a meal with two starter ingredients selected by the judges.
If the show does produce a third season, it seems likely that they may have to revamp the challenges once again, at least for the sake of keeping things fresh for the audience. In the meantime, there's plenty of other great baking competition shows to stream on Netflix now, like The Great British Baking Show and Nailed It.