Who doesn’t love a baking challenge? And if you’ve got a baking challenge, why not have some whos in there? In the brand new dr Seuss Baking Challenge On Amazon Prime Video, the wild and whimsical world of the popular and prolific children’s author serves as the theme for a team-based baking contest. From the cat in the hat to the Grinch, there are many familiar faces that are sure to feature in cakes and pastries.
opening shot: The first teams of bakers enter the competition area, the so-called “City of Seuss”, a suitably whimsical and garish landscape with amazing colors and wild characters. They giggle with nervous delight at the competition in front of them.
The essentials: The holidays are a great time for baking, and the Dr. Seuss Baking Challenge takes a fairly standard backshow competition format and gives it a fresh Seuss shine by offering a nine-team, eight-episode elimination format centered around the work of the much-loved children’s author, with each new challenge drawn from Theodor Geisel’s extensive library of characters and creates stories. Tamara Mowry-Housley will host and a host of top pastry chefs will step in as guest judges as the bakers try to take Seuss from the side to the pastry.
What shows will it remind you of? It has the same whimsical tone as many of the Food Network’s pie shows, plus a touch of Made!but really, the point here is to remind you of all the familiar stories of Dr. To remember Seuss you know and love.
Our opinion: There is certainly no shortage of baking competition shows on television these days, of the gold standard set by The Great British Baking Show to the merry glitches of Made! further through to the countless seasonal and thematic efforts on the Food Network. Joining this battle is a new entry from Amazon Prime Video, a competition entirely themed around Dr. Seuss and draws on the prolific works of Theodor Geisel.
You won’t find reinvention of the wheel on this show — there are the usual mounds of molded fondant and sprayed food coloring, the high-intensity cuts between stressed-out competitors while baking, and on-screen interviews about their background, strategy, and telling of their feelings , while her cheeks progressed. If you’re a fan of baking shows, the format will look very familiar to you.
All in all, the perspective of Dr. Seuss for an especially fun family tour, which I can vouch for as a parent of kids who watch both baking shows and Dr. love Seuss. I previewed this show with my six and seven year old kids and they giggled with delight as they watched the characters they know and love take shape in sugar, flour and butter. (They even asked if we could try making some of the cakes ourselves, which would probably be a lot closer Made!given my lack of baking skills.) dr Seuss Baking Challenge doesn’t break new ground in television, but it’s a satisfying confection for the whole family, and a particularly well-timed one, given that it falls just before the winter break that sends little ones home from school.
It’s the sort of thing you can comfortably leave alone in front of the TV to watch, but you’ll also likely find yourself sitting down to watch and cheer on your favorite baking team.
gender and skin:I shouldn’t have to tell you this, but rest assured there’s nothing inappropriate here; This is definitely a family friendly ad.
farewell shot: Two teams celebrate entering the next round; one has to face the prospect of going home. But we’re only just getting started, with six more teams yet to be hit and another seven episodes before the Seuss Best Bakers can be crowned.
sleeping star: Due to the unique competitive format, it’s hard to know from the very first episode who the breakout star of the series will be. Nine teams compete on the show, beginning with sets of three teams in each of the first three episodes and moving to a group of six teams thereafter. Kyle and Huiwen deserve early credit for making a “seussembouche,” a twist on the architecturally ambitious French classic croquembouche, a tower of cream puff donuts held together with cotton candy.
Most pilot line:“I handle baking and pastry the same way an artist handles a canvas,” notes South Carolina-based pastry chef Kyle Smothers. “I push boundaries, I want to think outside the box, it’s my individual shine and being who I am will lead to success here in The City of Seuss.”
Our appeal: Stream it. If you need a family-friendly viewing experience, dr Seuss Baking Challenge is a satisfying confection that leaves a sweet taste in the mouth.
Scott Hines is an architect, blogger, and veteran internet user from Louisville, Kentucky who publishes the ever-popular Campaign cookbook newsletter.