Last updated on December 7, 2016 by Liza Hawkins
This weekend marks the premiere of Season 8 of “Food Network Star” – and I know what you’re thinking.
There have been eight seasons?
Yes, yes there have – dating back to 2005, actually. Some past winners you may remember, others you may be thinking, “Where are they now?”
The show itself has morphed throughout the years, most recently having contestants do things that feel disconnected from hosting a cooking show. My favorite episodes are those that reveal how good (or horrendous) someone would be if they did, in fact, earn the rights to their own TV program with Food Network.
So I’m hoping that with the Season 8 revamp, that’s what we get.
What’s different this year?
Well, for one, there are three teams this year. We like teams, right? That’s what Food Network’s hoping for! If you’re on Twitter, you’ll want to take note of each team’s hashtag:
#TeamGiada
#TeamAlton
#TeamBobby
Have a favorite yet? Fans are already tweeting up a storm about their faves, and the start of the season in general – better check it out! There’s a hashtag for that too – follow the #Star or #FoodNetworkStar streams to catch everything else FNS.
Something else that’s new is the focus on individual coaching around both cooking and TV presence.
They need this. Desperately.
I’m hopeful that with this next level of coaching we’ll see the contestants progress a little faster (and a lot better) than seasons past where it has been painful to watch them fail massively in front of the camera. Over and over and over and over and over AND OVER again.
It all starts on Food Network tonight, folks! Saturday, May 12, sets the stage with the casting special at 9pm ET. Then the Series 8 premiere is tomorrow, Sunday, May 13, at 9pm ET – Mother’s Day!
Will you be watching?
yep! I’ll be watching, but I agree. We don’t need to see challenges that don’t support hosting a show. Curious to see how the team thing works.
I’ll be watching!!
Okay, so I realized this – just because it’s “Food Network Star” doesn’t mean the person selected has to have a cooking show. Could be a show like “Diners, Drive-ins and Dives” or even “$40 a Day,” which means some of the antics they do on this show make sense. I liked the first episode!