Although this season has already aired in Britain, PBS will finally air the next season of The Great British Bake Off/Baking Show this year.
Let’s face it: you’ve probably already seen the last season of The Great British Bake Off, or, as it’s known here in the States, The Great British Baking Show. It started airing back in August of 2016 across the pond. However, PBS likes to pretend that its enthusiasts don’t also know how to use the internet, a fact that we’ve noted here already. That’s about the only way to explain Deadline’s report of The Great British Baking Show‘s upcoming premiere date. PBS will start airing the season on June 16.
The announcement came as part of PBS’ turn at the Television Critics Association press tour. Deadline quotes Beth Hoppe, the Chief Programming Executive and GM of General Audience Programming, as also saying that PBS will air “at least two more seasons”.
Here’s where that gets interesting. The season that will air in June is series 7 from the BBC. It is also the last series that will feature Mary Berry, Sue Perkins and Mel Giedroyc, otherwise known as approximately 60% of the reason to watch the show, according to our extremely scientific analysis. Basically, the BBC and Love Productions couldn’t come to an agreement over money to license the show, so Bake Off will move to Channel 4.
In fact, rumors from outlets like The Guardian started almost immediately that the BBC would also put out a not-quite-knockoff, possibly before Channel 4 could start airing Bake Off again.
So, what’s that second season that Hoppe has mentioned? Will it be the BBC’s version, since The Guardian pointedly reports that it can still license the format in international markets until 2028? Or will PBS have to work with Channel 4 to switch to the Paul Hollywood version?
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All we’re saying is that we’re kneeling at the oven and keeping an eye on this bake.