Hasbro has turned many of its most popular toy brands into multimedia franchises in recent years. The list of toys turned into movies includes transformers, G.I. JoeY Forest ranger. And they have even made some board games into movies or shows, like Key code Y Ouija, which worked well enough to get a sequel. But a TV show based on a toy oven? That is definitely breaking new ground.
And now it’s happening, on Netflix. The streaming service will launch soon. Easy-Bake Battle: The Home Cooking Competitionwhich according to the official plot synopsis is “inspired by Hasbro’s iconic Easy-Bake Oven, with ultra-intelligent, skilled home cooks, all with a lot of heart and soul, clashing and using their most ingenious kitchen tricks to show who can do the easiest, fastest and most delicious food”.
The Easy-Bake Oven is one of the most popular toys of all time. Introduced by Kenner in 1963, it is still produced to this day. The original models baked various treats from packaged mixes using the heat of a 100-watt light bulb.
More recent versions of the toy, which is now made by Hasbro, have updated the internals to contain a more conventional heating element. (The device has small slots on the sides for inserting and removing baked goods without sticking a child’s sensitive fingers into a working oven.)
This is how Netflix describes the premise of its new Easy Bake Battle:
In each fast-paced, gimmick-filled episode, host Antoni Porowski (Queer Eye) invites three imaginative home cooks to the Easy-Bake Kitchen. Over the course of two rounds, they’ll go head-to-head, racing against the clock in sweet and savory challenges, each based on relatable food-filled life situations that require them to cook a meal fast and smart in a designated time, and making it as easy as possible! Chefs will compete for $25,000 each battle, with the winner moving on for a chance to win up to $100,000!
So they don’t specifically say that contestants have to cook things using an Easy-Bake Oven, but if this show actually includes people making $25,000 worth of baked goods worth of kids’ toys, I’m totally on the lookout (and possibly buying an Easy-Bake Oven). and then auditioning to get into season 2). And then I want a game show based on Hungry Hungry Hippos where people have to feed as much food as possible to real, live hippos. That is an unmissable concept.
Easy-Bake Battle: The Home Cooking Competition Premiere on Netflix on October 12.
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