With judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith (who replaced long-term judge Mary Berry in 2017), The Great British Baking Show has been a fan favorite since premiering in 2010. In 2019, seasons 11 and 12 of The Great British Baking Show were confirmed. Season 11 premiered to great ratings September 22, 2020. While there is not yet an official release date for season 12, it is expected that it will follow a similar schedule, with filming happening sometime between April and August, and premiering sometime in September.
Who will be hosting has still not been confirmed. Noel Fielding has hosted four seasons of the show since 2017 and fans are predicting his return for the next season. Fielding was paired with Sandi Toksvig for three seasons, then by Matt Lucas for season 11. So far there has not been any announcement of a change of hosts or judges for season 12.
While fans impatiently await a new season in the fall, there are several other baking competitions premiering new seasons in the meantime. Food Network’s Spring Baking Championship will start its 7th season on February 22, 2021. Fans will notice the absence of regular judge Lorraine Pascale who, due to COVID restrictions, was not able to travel from her home in England to America for filming. She will be replaced by cook Kardea Brown. Also on Food Network is Kids Baking Championship where kids and pre-teens show off their above-average baking chops. Season 9 premiered on December 28, 2020, continuing until the finale on February 3, 2021.
Nailed It! is Netflix’s breakout hit baking competition. Inspired by people’s baking fails on Pinterest, the show gives non-professional bakers a challenge that would be hard for seasoned pros to pull off. The result: catastrophes that even the bakers themselves can’t help but laugh about. There’s no word yet on season 5, but based on the spacing between seasons 3 and 4, fans hope to see a new season drop in March 2021. Netflix also has Sugar Rush, their version of Cake Wars, where teams of bakers compete in three rounds of elimination challenges, with the last team standing going home with $10,000. Netflix has released a season of Sugar Rush every July, so fans are keeping their fingers crossed for season 4 appearing this July.
While viewers can rest assured of eventually getting the new season of The Great British Baking Show, there is less certainty over the future of the less popular spin-off, The Great American Baking Show. The American competition has already been troubled by having to cancel season 3 part-way through and then quickly replacing one of the judges. Now they are facing yet more challenges that may keep them from producing a new season any time soon. Despite the name, the series is filmed in the same location as its British counterpart. Due to COVID, contestants can’t travel from America to England. Even the British version had to make special accommodations, with the tent location moved to outside the Down Hall Hotel, contestants quarantining after journeying to a the new location, then living on-location at the hotel for the duration of filming.
The good news is that while there is no guaranteed release date for The Great British Baking Show, season 12 has been promised to viewers. In the meantime, there’s no shortage of baking challenges to help satiate your sweet tooth.