# The Great American Baking Show pulled from ABC schedule indefinitely



## headless chicken (Oct 8, 2004)

For those that had a season pass to The Great American Baking Show and will soon be wondering where it went, it looks like we have sexual misconduct allegations to blame. This is just a silly way to punish viewers and all those involved if you ask me, but ABC has been making a lot of scheduling mistakes this year.

The Great American Baking Show Yanked From Schedule in Light of Judge's Sexual Misconduct Allegations


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## pdhenry (Feb 28, 2005)

My TiVo didn't pick up the scheduling change, and is still recording two hours of whatever's on ABC 9-11 tonight.


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## astrohip (Jan 7, 2003)

headless chicken said:


> For those that had a season pass to The Great American Baking Show and will soon be wondering where it went, it looks like we have sexual misconduct allegations to blame. This is just a silly way to punish viewers and all those involved if you ask me, but ABC has been making a lot of scheduling mistakes this year.
> 
> The Great American Baking Show Yanked From Schedule in Light of Judge's Sexual Misconduct Allegations


I think it's absolutely the right thing to do (IMHO). Sure, viewers want to see it. But let's clean up the mess first, then bring it back.

The other way to look at this is to think about the opposite--let's say they leave it on. Then you have people complaining they're watching a show with a judge who's been accused of sexual harassment and more. Always ere on the side of doing right, not wrong.

What else has ABC done scheduling-wise, that's a mistake? I'm going blank at the moment.


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## Mikeguy (Jul 28, 2005)

Wow--and presumably, with all the shows already in the can. 

Absent that, I was wondering, what a coup it would have been just to slide in a new judge, without a breath--perhaps Mary Berry from the British original, if she and Paul Hollywood are on speaking terms. Maybe ABC should license and run the current Brit. version in its place.


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## osu1991 (Mar 6, 2015)

Guilty until proven innocent in Hollywood. The media witch hunt is on now to dig up dirt on everyone from decades ago. 

My opinion it's BS to pull the show. Why didn't ABC pull The Chew if they were so concerned with these allegations? Mario even admitted his were probably true. ABC owns that show and hell if they will lose money doing the "right" thing on something they actually own.

Mary is under contract to BBC and doing shows for them. Love Productions makes the US version along with the UK version so it was easy to slide Paul Hollywood in as the judge. It's also why they film in the UK. They already have everything set up there and its cheaper than hiring out everything here.


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## wish_bgr (Jul 19, 2014)

pdhenry said:


> My TiVo didn't pick up the scheduling change, and is still recording two hours of whatever's on ABC 9-11 tonight.


Replacement planned is for The Great Christmas Light Fight and CMA Country Christmas. Of course, the Guide will update a day or two later with correct information


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## Mikeguy (Jul 28, 2005)

osu1991 said:


> Guilty until proven innocent in Hollywood. The media witch hunt is on now to dig up dirt on everyone from decades ago.
> 
> My opinion it's BS to pull the show. Why didn't ABC pull The Chew if they were so concerned with these allegations? Mario even admitted his were probably true. ABC owns that show and hell if they will lose money doing the "right" thing on something they actually own.
> 
> Mary is under contract to BBC and doing shows for them. Love Productions makes the US version along with the UK version so it was easy to slide Paul Hollywood in as the judge. It's also why they film in the UK. They already have everything set up there and its cheaper than hiring out everything here.


The difference with "The Chew" is that they can proceed on without the orange-Crocs dude (  ) and they seemingly don't pre-record their show for many episodes in advance, and so he doesn't have to be shown. As vs. with the show here, which I assume already is done. I guess, they could CGI a new chef's face over Johnny Iuzzini's face. 

(I don't necessarily disagree with your take on the historical aspect. But for whatever it's worth, at least some of the events involving Johnny Iuzzini occurred at a restaurant he left 6-7 years ago, not decades.)


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## jsmeeker (Apr 2, 2001)

Stuff like this sucks. So many people that are not part of it get "punished"


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## pdhenry (Feb 28, 2005)

osu1991 said:


> Why didn't ABC pull The Chew if they were so concerned with these allegations? Mario even admitted his were probably true. ABC owns that show and hell if they will lose money doing the "right" thing on something they actually own.


Mario hasn't been on The Chew all week, and as of today has been fired by ABC.


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## Mikeguy (Jul 28, 2005)

pdhenry said:


> Mario hasn't been on The Chew all week, and as of today has been fired by ABC.


Thanks for the update from today; I wasn't aware. I will miss him professionally--he added expertise and intelligence, and humanity, to the show, as well as diversity (he typically would be the one raising Jewish cooking at this time of year), and his Italian cooking expertise was very welcomed. It's way sad and much will be missed.

I do hope they bring in another chef--the 3-some seems like it needs more and it feels like there is a vacuum (remember, originally, there were 5). I would appreciate seeing someone (or, even better, 2) from an under-represented group, such as with an emphasis on Latino or Asian cooking.


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## osu1991 (Mar 6, 2015)

Mikeguy said:


> The difference with "The Chew" is that they can proceed on without the orange-Crocs dude (  ) and they seemingly don't pre-record their show for many episodes in advance, and so he doesn't have to be shown. As vs. with the show here, which I assume already is done. I guess, they could CGI a new chef's face over Johnny Iuzzini's face.
> 
> (I don't necessarily disagree with your take on the historical aspect. But for whatever it's worth, at least some of the events involving Johnny Iuzzini occurred at a restaurant he left 6-7 years ago, not decades.)


Semantics and still BS. ABC shouldn't have aired the first 2 episodes if they were so worried about it. This came out before Thanksgiving. Punishing the viewers, contestants and everyone involved in the production based on accusations that haven't even been proven is wrong.

Tired of the politically correct BS and bowing down to the vocal minority. I find it hard to believe that so many were silent for so long, then suddenly when someone is in the limelight they come out with accusations.

Decades wasn't in reference to Iuzzini, but a witch hunt in general. Dustin Hoffman is being accused of stuff from 1984


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## Mikeguy (Jul 28, 2005)

osu1991 said:


> Semantics and still BS. ABC shouldn't have aired the first 2 episodes if they were so worried about it. This came out before Thanksgiving. Punishing the viewers, contestants and everyone involved in the production based on accusations that haven't even been proven is wrong.
> 
> Tired of the politically correct BS and bowing down to the vocal minority. I find it hard to believe that so many were silent for so long, then suddenly when someone is in the limelight they come out with accusations.
> 
> Decades wasn't in reference to Iuzzini, but a witch hunt in general. Dustin Hoffman is being accused of stuff from 1984


I'm not sure what you consider to be semantics--the fact is, "The Chew" can continue on (and has, immediately) without Mario Batali appearing; not so, the bake-off, which I assume already is in the can, absent re-filming. I agree, it's a shame and a punishment to all, including the contestants.

I guess that the current series could be shown at a later date, if the allegations prove unfounded (which, likely, is not going to be likely).


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## justen_m (Jan 15, 2004)

osu1991 said:


> Why didn't ABC pull The Chew if they were so concerned with these allegations?


I watch the Chew everyday. Mario hasn't appeared on the show since the allegations were made public. The Chew is currently airing new, live episodes. Removing Mario from the show is easy. I am curious as to what happens when repeats start being aired. Maybe next week? Or the week after? Will they air repeats that have Mario? There are lots of old episodes without Mario. Throughout the entire series, it hasn't been uncommon for a host to be gone for a day or two, or an entire week, vacations, other commitments, etc.

Daphne Oz quit The Chew a while back, probably 'cause she just had her 3rd baby, and now with Mario gone, they need to bring in somebody else. An expert female chef? I wonder if she'll be an unknown, or somebody from a Food Network/Cooking Chanel show.


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## murgatroyd (Jan 6, 2002)

Mikeguy said:


> I'm not sure what you consider to be semantics--the fact is, "The Chew" can continue on (and has, immediately) without Mario Batali appearing; not so, the bake-off, which I assume already is in the can, absent re-filming. I agree, it's a shame and a punishment to all, including the contestants.


How could you re-film such a thing once it was already in the can? 
Run the competition over with different challenges? It's a logistical nightmare.


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## Mikeguy (Jul 28, 2005)

murgatroyd said:


> How could you re-film such a thing once it was already in the can?
> Run the competition over with different challenges? It's a logistical nightmare.


Absolutely. I kind of was toying in my mind with a cutout of a replacement chef's face put over the replaced chef's, South Park-like.


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## astrohip (Jan 7, 2003)

osu1991 said:


> Guilty until proven innocent in Hollywood. The media witch hunt is on now to dig up dirt on everyone from decades ago.


Perhaps you are unaware he apologized for his behavior. Generally when people apologize for something, it presumes guilt.

TPTB generally vet these accusations. Only when they feel the complaints/accusations are credible do they take action.

I understand how this affects the innocents involved--the contestants, crew, viewers, etc. Nonetheless, to continue airing a show when one of the judges has admitted to improprieties (a much too gentle word for sexually harassing people)... ain't gonna happen.

The very fact you call it a "media witch hunt" tells us how you feel about this issue. I prefer to think of it as dirty laundry finally being exposed for what it is. And long overdue.


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## osu1991 (Mar 6, 2015)

astrohip said:


> Perhaps you are unaware he apologized for his behavior. Generally when people apologize for something, it presumes guilt.
> 
> TPTB generally vet these accusations. Only when they feel the complaints/accusations are credible do they take action.
> 
> ...


OK Mr Know it all. Tell ME how I feel about this issue. I call like i see it. Its Bull****! A forced apology to satisfy the politically correct ********. I stand by innocent until proven guilty every day, so don't tell me how I feel about the issue.

I guess we should just pull all the old movies and series with Bob Hope, Mickey Rooney etc.. They were known for sleeping around and who knows what else. i guess Paul Hollywood's indiscretions on the previous version of the US show didn't bother ABC. They did seem to care that this all came out several weeks ago, but didn't care until Mario's past came out and were pressured to act.

If it was my family member and this happened YEARS ago, something would have been done then. You can't tell me all these people stayed quiet and didn't tell a single person that cared about them.

I can give you a detailed accounting of my sisters assault if you would still like to enlighten me on how I should feel about this.


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## osu1991 (Mar 6, 2015)

So I guess ABC will be pulling Great Christmas Light Fight now that Carter Oosterhouse has been accused of coercing sexual favors from an employee on the job for HGTV in 2008?

TV Host Carter Oosterhouse Accused of Coerced Oral Sex by Makeup Artist


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## headless chicken (Oct 8, 2004)

osu1991 said:


> So I guess ABC will be pulling Great Christmas Light Fight now that Carter Oosterhouse has been accused of coercing sexual favors from an employee on the job for HGTV in 2008?
> 
> TV Host Carter Oosterhouse Accused of Coerced Oral Sex by Makeup Artist


The irony. The Great Christmas Light Fight was what aired in place of the The Great American Baking Show, and now even the replacement show is mired by Scandal! It seems that at this rate of allegations of sexual misconduct, the only truly safe thing to air on network TV would be white noise.


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## Mikeguy (Jul 28, 2005)

headless chicken said:


> The irony. The Great Christmas Light Fight was what aired in place of the The Great American Baking Show, and now even the replacement show is mired by Scandal! *It seems that at this rate of allegations of sexual misconduct, the only truly safe thing to air on network TV would be white noise.*


Or all-female cast shows . . . .


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## headless chicken (Oct 8, 2004)

astrohip said:


> What else has ABC done scheduling-wise, that's a mistake? I'm going blank at the moment.


ABC's ratings have been in a pretty bad downtrend over the past couple of years thanks to the many missteps new ABC president, Channing Dungey. Friday and Sunday nights in particular have become a ratings abyss. Shows like Once Upon A Time and Marvel's Inhumans should have been canceled or never ordered respectively, rather than shunted to the Friday night death slot where Shark Tank was doing quite well. Likewise, Sundays are now a mess with Toy Box/Shark Tank/To tell the Truth all performing poorly in their new day and time.

What frustrates me about ABC is the way they yank programs from the schedule for months at a time, sometimes indefinitely and with no plans to air them or make them available on other platforms. At least with Ten Days in the Valley, the remaining episodes will air on broadcast TV on Saturdays (haven't seen it yet but have the eps stockpiled on my Roamio). However, both Time After Time and now The Great American Baking Show were unceremoniously pulled with no plans to ever air the remaining episodes. ABC was once my favorite network years ago in its heyday but I'm disgusted with it as whole now (along with parent corporation Disney, aka the Evil Empire which has now acquired FOX--but that's a topic for another thread).


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## jsmeeker (Apr 2, 2001)

So, I guess ABC won't be airing he State of the Onion


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## MikeekiM (Jun 25, 2002)

Yes, it is important to punish the guilty party...

But there are many people being unfairly punished for the acts of one man. By pulling the show off the air you punish the contestants, the show's backstage crew, the producers, etc...

There's got to be a better way to punish the one without impacting the many... (famous quote from Spock...LOL)


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## jsmeeker (Apr 2, 2001)

I think the show itself will never return. Guessing ratings were not that great anyway and it's a good way to to just kill it all tgether. Too bad because I think with this third season of the new American version was shaping up nicely. Talent level was getting better and better.


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## headless chicken (Oct 8, 2004)

jsmeeker said:


> *I think the show itself will never return.* Guessing ratings were not that great anyway and it's a good way to to just kill it all tgether. Too bad because I think with this third season of the new American version was shaping up nicely. Talent level was getting better and better.


You're probably right. ABC has pulled the prior episode from its website and appears to be attempting to scrub any evidence of its existence, though there is still an empty page at Watch The Great American Baking Show TV Show - ABC.com.

I'm pretty annoyed because I started to get invested in this show and this year's crop of bakers, despite the American version not being able to hold a candle to the original on BBC.


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## Mikeguy (Jul 28, 2005)

headless chicken said:


> You're probably right. ABC has pulled the prior episode from its website and appears to be attempting to scrub any evidence of its existence, though there is still an empty page at Watch The Great American Baking Show TV Show - ABC.com.
> 
> I'm pretty annoyed because I started to get invested in this show and this year's crop of bakers, *despite the American version not being able to hold a candle to the original on BBC*.


^ This.


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## jsmeeker (Apr 2, 2001)

The holiday versions on ABC the past couple of years were pretty much exactly the same. Except the contestants were 'Muricans. And the hosts (err... presenters) were different. And one of the judges was different. Also, the talent level wasn't on par, but I suspect ti takes a while to figure out how to find the real talent. Everything else was the same. Same location. Tent. Set. Graphics. Music. Overall structure of the show


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## Mikeguy (Jul 28, 2005)

jsmeeker said:


> The holiday versions on ABC the past couple of years were pretty much exactly the same. Except the contestants were 'Muricans. And the hosts (err... presenters) were different. And one of the judges was different. Also, the talent level wasn't on par, but I suspect ti takes a while to figure out how to find the real talent. Everything else was the same. Same location. Tent. Set. Graphics. Music. Overall structure of the show


In other words, it was different.


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## murgatroyd (Jan 6, 2002)

The production company had no clue about what made the original GBBO good. You can't just use the same set and rules and plug in different hosts and judges and have it come out as good as the original. The combination of Paul Hollywood and Mary Berry, with Mel and Sue as hosts, was special. You just can't reproduce that with four random people.

That being said -- the hideous American copies were still better than the holiday baking competition on Food Network where



Spoiler



the challenge was to do a mash-up of traditional desserts (one contestant had to combine tiramisu and bread pudding) and then were given a twist where everyone had to include sweet potatoes in their dish


.

For all the faults of the knock-offs, at least the goal is to bake at a high standard and to create recognizable desserts (especially during the technical challenge).


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## Mikeguy (Jul 28, 2005)

The Brit original also has another thing going for it: the British contestants. Something about the British sensibilities makes the show more charming than the U.S. counterparts. I also find it humorous that many of the Brit contestants look like they were pulled straight from a "Wallace and Gromit" movie.


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## osu1991 (Mar 6, 2015)

They’ve done a pretty good job with the Great Australian Bake Off going into its 4th series and The Great Canadian Baking Show that is currently airing its premiere season. 

Takes a couple seasons to get it right. The first couple seasons of the British Bake-off were not that great. It took a couple seasons to get the production and casting right.


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## osu1991 (Mar 6, 2015)

I'm sure ABC can screw this up again. 

Great American Baking Show will return this holiday season, as Spice Adams announcing he is returning to host. Judges and any other host haven't been confirmed . Filming will begin in the next few weeks as casting started in June.

The Great Canadian Baking Show returns to CBC with Series 02 in a couple of weeks, for those that know how to watch.


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## pdhenry (Feb 28, 2005)

In case anyone hasn't heard, the 2007 British season (the one with the new hosts and without Mary Berry) is on Netflix now.


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## Mikeguy (Jul 28, 2005)

The U.S. series just has never seemed as compelling to me as the U.K. series. The charm, and talent, in the U.K. series just never has been matched here, IMHO.


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## osu1991 (Mar 6, 2015)

Going all Spice for it's return. 

Great American Baking Show: Holiday Edition to return to ABC on Dec 6th with Baby Spice -Emma Bunton cohosting with Spice Adams. Sherry Yard is new judge along with Paul Hollywood.

Maybe they will get more than 2 episodes on air this time

'Great American Baking Show' & 'Christmas Light Fight' Gets ABC Premiere Date | Deadline 'The Great American Baking Show: Holiday Edition': Premiere Date & Spicy New Host For ABC Competition Series


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