It’s still summer for a little while longer, but Food Network is looking ahead to spooky season with the release of its Halloween programming lineup.
Kicking off the list is one of the cable network’s biggest annual hits, “Halloween Baking Championship.” The new steampunk-themed season will debut Sept. 16 at 9 p.m. ET. Per Food Network, “the series returns with more creativity and competition as 10 talented bakers from across the country create awe-inspiring desserts inspired by the haunted science lab known as ‘Henson Laboratories.’” This will mark the first season of “Halloween Baking Championship” where immunity is on the line each week.
John Henson returns as host and Stephanie Boswell, Carla Hall and Zac Young are back as judges.
Expanding on the “Baking Championship” franchise, spinoff “Kids Baking Championship” will debut a new special, “Scary Good,” on Oct. 7 at 8 p.m. ET. Hosted by Duff Goldman and Kardea Brown, the event will see four fan-favorite kid bakers return to celebrate the two extremes of Halloween — scary and sweet. The contestants will be challenged to make pull-apart Halloween cupcakes with one of the hottest peppers on the planet before a shocking twist puts the baking tools and equipment on the line.
“Halloween Baking Championship” and “Kids Baking Championship” are produced by Triage Entertainment.
The new season of “Halloween Wars” will premiere Sept. 22 at 9 p.m. ET with Jonathan Bennett returning as host and Shinmin Li and Aarti Sequeira as judges. The show will see eight teams of masterful pumpkin carvers, cake bakers and sugar artists compete against each other to create mind-blowing monster-themed displays. Captained by former champions, each team must capture the essence of iconic and classic Halloween monsters with mouth-watering treats made to impress returning In the end, one team will be left standing and walk away with the “Halloween Wars” championship.
Just before the new season of “Halloween Wars” debuts, a special revealing how the latest batch of competitors was selected, “Road to Halloween Wars,” will air at 8 p.m. ET.
“Halloween Wars” and “Road to Halloween Wars” are produced by Super Delicious.
Hosted by host Damaris Phillips, “Outrageous Pumpkins” will return Sept. 29 at 10 p.m. ET featuring an all-star cast of 14 of the country’s best carvers matched up in teams. Per Food Network, “These elite duos will be challenged to create over-the-top pumpkin creations, from gravity-defying structures to mechanical monsters with unbelievable special effects. The stakes have never been higher as the teams compete to take home the first-ever title of Outrageous Pumpkins All-Stars Champions.”
“Outrageous Pumpkins” hails from Turn Card Content.
Outside of primetime’s spooktacular programming, Food Network will also air Halloween-themed episodes of daytime series “The Kitchen” and “The Pioneer Woman.”
With more than 28 million viewers watching its Halloween programming last year, Food Network was a top 5 non-news/sports cable network among adults ages 18-49 during September and October.
“Food Network’s Halloween programming is iconic because of its fantastical themes and extraordinary creations,” Warner Bros. Discovery head of food content Betsy Ayala said. “Launching Halloween in September allows us to build fan excitement early and carry that momentum through October to the end of the year.”
