Netflix has announced the addition of its latest Nailed It! spin-off, entitled The Big Nailed It Baking Challenge which will premiere on the streaming service later this summer. The latest installment of the baking show will see another group of talented but inexperienced baked the opportunity to showcase their talents on television, while host Nicole Byer and judge Jacques Torres give the ten bakers the kitchen of their dreams, armed with every tool they would ever need at their disposal.
With assistance and coaching from pastry chefs of world renown, they will go head to head with each other and battle for a cash prize at the conclusion of the series. Netflix also announced a second season of its viral hit, Is It Cake? entitled Is It Cake, Too?
Presented by Mikey Day, the baking series was a surprise hit for Netflix based around the — admittedly, extremely niche — premise of unbelievably talented artists being able to bake cakes that are disguised as other objects. Some cakes featured in the first season included statues, vintage suitcases, a chessboard, and even a bowling ball. Celebrity judges appear in each episode and are tasked with figuring out which cakes are cakes, and which are not. The bakers compete with cash on the line and the audience will be asked "Is it real? Or is it cake?"
Why Should We Expect More Unscripted Television in the Near Future?
While Netflix is no stranger to game shows and unscripted content like this, it does come at an opportune time with the ongoing Writers' Guild of America strike — shows like this can be put together very quickly without the need for tight scripting, and reality television has previously been a go-to for network television during past strikes, so the addition of more of such shows for streaming services should not come as a surprise to anybody paying attention to the ongoing events in both Los Angeles and New York City.
The WGA is arguing that the writers are not seeing their fair share of residual payments as a result of outdated streaming platform deals. If a TV show is broadcast on regular television and streaming, the latter is paid for in significantly smaller amounts. For streamers, writers are paid a flat fee regardless of success but broadcast television uses a “reward-for-success” model that means if a show is a hit, writers can earn more for their work, despite streamers raking in record profits. The WGA is also campaigning for a higher salary floor and for regulation on the use of artificial intelligence in scriptwriting, asking the AMPTP for a guarantee that it won’t be “used as source material.”
The first five seasons of Nailed It! and the first season of Is It Cake? are currently available to stream on Netflix. The Big Nailed It Baking Challenge will release this summer, with no premiere date as yet. Is It Cake, Too? will launch on June 30.