Kids are eating up Netflix’s ‘Is It Cake?’
Is it cake, or is it a surprisingly good way to keep your elementary schooler entertained?
Netflix’s goofy baking series “Is it Cake?”, a TV show that was seemingly born out of a meme, is a culinary competition in which bakers compete to make cakes that look the most like things that aren’t cakes: A bowling pin, a kettlebell or even the Mona Lisa. And if contestants can fool the judges into thinking their cake isn’t really a cake, they can make off with thousands of dollars for their decorating trouble in each episode. At the end of the season a winner is awarded a $50,000 prize.
It’s silly, absurd and sometimes kind of dumb, but it also happens to be one of the most surprising shows you’ll find 7-year-olds around the country begging their parents to watch. And considering that it’s ridiculous without being too mindless, parents are more than happy to oblige and watch with them. Ask members of any parenting group on Facebook if their kids are obsessed with the show, and you’ll get a slew of responses (just like I did).
“I don’t know what it is about that show, but my kids love it,” says Elizabeth Harris.
In 45-minute episodes, with adult contestants, judges and more than a few jokes that would go over the head of the average 6-year-old, “Cake” doesn’t seem like it would be in competition with “Bluey” for kids’ hearts and minds. But its charm is in taking a very silly subject – cakes that look like sneakers – and treating it super seriously. And that’s what kids inevitably want, to see their passions (often inane to most adults) taken seriously.
“It’s getting me ready for when I do competitions,” says Jackie Dykan, a 6year-old who’s a “Cake” fan. “And it looks real! Like real cake!”
“I wish I was a judge so I could eat the cakes,” says Jack Abhar, 5. Us too, kiddo.
When the judges (a who’s who of Netflix’s C-list talent), are trying to figure out what’s a cake and what is not, the tense music and strobe lights drive up the drama. Host Mikey Day (“Saturday Night Live”) approaches his job of trying to cut into whatever might be cake with a big knife with the solemnity of a priest. And unlike most cooking reality competitions on TV, there isn’t a catty competition among the bakers. It’s more of a party to which they’re all invited, and some of them get to go home with cash.
“I watch it with my 7-year-old twin daughters,” says Emily Zilber. “It’s nice to have a show we can enjoy together. I think they like that it celebrates skill but is also supremely silly at the same time. Everyone is given the opportunity to be creative and good at what they do for the world.”
Joanne Gasiewski says her daughter Cecilia, 7, is “obsessed” with the show. “They pick fun items to recreate, and the creativity and guessing game appeals to kids.”
Common Sense Media, a website
dedicated to reviewing TV shows and films for their kid appropriateness, says “Cake” is good for ages 8 and older, and calls it “absurdly entertaining.”
If you want to cuddle up on the couch with your kids, there aren’t a lot of choices these days: Plenty of mature adult fare, some teen dramas, preschool series and a few tween shows, but very little that appeals to schoolage children, and even less that would entertain two adults, a high schooler, a preteen and one bright-eyed 8-yearold.
Amid all the lowbrow humor about cakes that look like toilets, there is some wonderful celebration of individuality and perseverance. The winner of Season 1, Andrew Fuller, wore his green hair and maximalist fashion with pride, and inspired many young viewers.
“They fell in love with Andrew, who won Season 1, for both how quirky and unique and singular his vision was, but also for his immense artistic talent,” Zilber says of her twin girls. “My one daughter told me she wants to go to college where Andrew’s bakery is so she can apprentice there.”
Is it cake, or is it a new dream for what we want to be when we grow up?
Amid all the lowbrow humor, there is some wonderful celebration of individuality and perseverance.