(spoilers for only what's aired so far)
I general avoid competitive baking shows...or any competitive "reality" shows...or reality shows in general. But I loved the HP books and movies, and my favorites in the movies were always the Weasley twins, so when I found out their portrayers (James and Oliver Phelps) were hosting the show, I had to tune in.
Two episodes have aired so far. The first featured 18 contestants paired up into 9 teams, with the teams being chosen based on something the teammates had in common (favorite movie of the series, favorite scene, favorite Hogwarts house, etc.). Three teams were eliminated in a bizarre (to me) way: the judges (Carla Hall and Jozef Youssef) made their choices immediately after tasting each creation rather than waiting until they'd tasted all the cakes. Two teams that I was immediately rooting for--Jessica and Jamie (fans of all things Weasley) and Michael and Connor (both dig the Mirror of Erised)--were of course among the three eliminated the first week. I loved how bubbly Jessica was, and Connor amazes me for already having achieved the position of pastry chef and gourmet chocolatier at the tender age of 18. And the team I was hoping would be eliminated--Chris and Miko (House Slytherin)--of course is still in the competition. There's something about Miko that just rubs me the wrong way. First of all, while all the other teams seem to really like the people they're paired with, Chris just seems exasperated all the time with Miko. And that's understandable; Chris described Miko as a "butterfly, always flying around you and distracting you" (he does seem to be kind of flighty...maybe a touch of ADD/ADHD?). In the first episode, Miko forgot to turn on the oven. In the second, he dropped a cake. He also tried to initiate some trash talking in the first round which didn't really go anywhere; it feels like the contestants are all just so psyched to be on the sets of the movies and have already bonded over their love of HP and aren't that interested in hating on each other. Which I find refreshing. Also, some of the contestants have competed against one another in previous competitions and became friends during/after the experience.
Anyways, I'll watch to the end. The Phelps twins are as charming as ever. I like that there will be guest judges from the HP movies (Warwick Davis was lovely last night). I like the judges even though I feel Carla Hall is now judging EVERY Food Network competition (she isn't, but it feels that way). My biggest frustration is other than a lackluster Reddit thread, it doesn't seem like anyone online is "talking" about the show.
