I explored the difference between Food Network and Netflix food reality TV—and got some candid insight into how Food Network and Discovery networks view their reality TV programs.
Food Network
Food Network host’s racist jokes surface after he argues ‘straight white male’ is a racial slur
The star of Food Network’s series Ginormous Food’s argument that “straight white male” is now a racial slur resulted in people on Twitter surfacing past tweets, which included mocking references to stereotypes about black people and Asian people.
HGTV = 766 hours of new TV this year. Food Network and ID = 650 hours each. Discovery = 448 hours
Discovery’s networks will produce 8,000 hours of original TV this year. Here’s how that breaks down for six of its channels.
Guy’s Big Project is Food Network’s most interesting new show in years
Guy’s Big Project, which stars Guy Fieri as he tests, mentors, and narrows a group of contestants who want their own food travel show like Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, gets closer to being human than any show I’ve seen on Food Network in years.
Food Network Star winner Jason Smith on his new role as a judge
Food Network Star Jason Smith talks about judging Best Baker in America, and whether or not he’ll have his own show on the network.
These 50 HGTV, Food Network, Travel Channel shows are leaving Netflix
Netflix won’t have shows from Food Network, HGTV, Travel Channel, DIY, or Cooking Channel next year. Here’s a list of what will be gone soon.
Camp Cutthroat’s “secret” filming location was used by this Fox show
At the start of the Cutthroat Kitchen spinoff Camp Cutthroat, Alton Brown, wearing a red beret and shorts, stood in front of the first three returning chefs. “You cutthroat veterans are some of the first outsiders to set feet inside those gates,” he told them. That was not quite true, because those gates previously belonged to… continue reading
The one good thing on the Shark Tank rip-off Food Fortunes
The Shark Tank knock-off that debuted earlier this month, Food Fortunes, is as weak as most Food Network reality shows are lately: an unoriginal idea that’s been weakly executed. I love food shows and I love Shark Tank, so I would have loved for this to be the best of both. Instead, you can see the lack of imagination all over… continue reading
Why Marc Summers hid leukemia for five years
Marc Summers, the host of Unwrapped and executive producer of Restaurant: Impossible, revealed yesterday that he’s been battling leukemia for the past five years. He said that now, “I’m in remission … and I’m ready to move on. The former Double Dare host discussed this on Philadelphia’s Preston and Steve radio show, surprising even one of the… continue reading
Guy Fieri’s horrifying SUV fight dismissed as “messing around”
Next Food Network Star winner, Guy vs. Rachael star, and Food Network personality Guy Fieri got in a horrifying fight Saturday with the person responsible for his hair. Cue the obvious jokes. The fight was filmed at the San Francisco International Airport by someone in another vehicle, and shows Guy’s hair stylist, Ariel Ramirez, is… continue reading
Proof Restaurant Stakeout uses actors to play servers
There isn’t really a need to prove that Food Network’s awful reality series Restaurant Stakeout is a fraud: it oozes inauthenticity in every frame, and people featured on the show have described how fake it is. But here is hard evidence of its fakeness: a casting notice “seeking male or female to play waiter at… continue reading
Double Dare host Marc Summers: now vacuuming on reality TV
The host of Nickelodeon’s original and awesome Double Dare, Marc Summers, now vacuums the set of a cable reality show. However, he’s also the executive producer of Restaurant Impossible, the Robert Irvine-hosted restaurant makeover show that broadcast its 50th episode last week with a quasi-behind-the-scenes and mostly recap episode. In that, Marc Summers revealed that,… continue reading
Next Iron Chef going all-stars; Chopped will leave its studio; Margaret Cho hosts dinner parties
Food Network announced a bunch of new and returning shows for the next year, including confirming changes to Food Network Star (the show is adding mentors and tribes) and revealing that season four of Next Iron Chef will be an all-star season, bringing back previous contestants of the same series. That makes sense, because its… continue reading
Food Network’s Restaurant Stakeout: as fake and staged as it seems
Food Nework’s latest reality show, Restaurant Stakeout, is anything but real, which is no surprise to anyone who has watched it. I have no idea why Food Network, which has some strong reality TV–Chopped, Next Food Network Star–actually airs crap like this show and Cupcake Wars. It’s embarrassing. Restaurant Stakeout takes the restaurant makeover show… continue reading
New competition series: Celebrity Cook-Off, Extreme Couponing All-Stars
Two new competition series will bring back people from other reality shows to compete: one pits couponers against one another, while lets D-list stars cook. In late December, TLC will debut Extreme Couponing All-Stars, on which 12 hoarders–I mean, couponers–will compete against each other. The challenge, TLC said in a press release, is to “buy… continue reading