Get your holiday baking face on with ‘Baking It,’ Dr. Seuss, others
If ever there was a month for baking, it would have to be December. And for those so inclined, a wealth of baking shows new and old will be gracing broadcast and streaming over the coming days.
Probably the most noteworthy is “Baking It,” which celebrates the season with a holiday special Monday, Dec. 12, on NBC. Here, hosts (and executive producers) Amy Poehler and Maya Rudolph welcome in celebrities Fred Armisen, Kristen Bell, JB Smoove and Nicole Richie to play for charity as they prepare recipes inspired by their own holiday and family traditions.
That same day, Season 2 of the competition series kicks off on Peacock, with Poehler and Rudolph charging a new batch of home bakers to work in teams as they take on a gauntlet of challenges they designed themselves. The winning tandem, as determined by a panel of opinionated grandmothers, get a substantial cash prize.
The following day, Prime Video and Freevee ring in the holidays with “Dr. Seuss Baking Challenge.” This competition series sees teams of elite bakers ranging from classically trained pastry chefs to self-taught cake artists pushing their imaginations and skills to the limit as they craft confections inspired by beloved Dr. Seuss characters including “The Cat in the Hat,” “The Grinch” and others.
The duo that creates the dessert that most impresses judges Clarice Lam (“Beat Bobby Flay”) and Joshua John Russell (“Food Network Challenge”) wins a $50,000 grand prize. Tamera Mowry-housley hosts.
Over on The Roku Channel is the currently streaming “The Great American Baking Show: Celebrity Holiday Special.” Here, Chloe Fineman (“Saturday Night Live”), actors Nat Faxon and D’arcy Carden, social media star Liza
Koshy, NFL great Marshawn Lynch and comedian Joel Kim Booster don their aprons and turn on the ovens as they attempt to impress judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith and win the title of America’s best amateur baker. Ellie Kemper and Zach Cherry host from the show’s iconic tent.
Hollywood and Leith also figure prominently in “The Great British Baking Show: Holidays,” the fifth season of which is currently streaming on Netflix. As judges, they’ll determine which winter treats make the grade as competitors from past seasons vie for the title and a cash prize.
And in the category of bakers emeritus imparting their knowledge, we present for your consideration two unimpeachable authorities, Julia Child and Martha Stewart, whose respective classic series “Baking With Julia” and “Martha Bakes” currently stream on PBS Online and the PBS app.