‘The Great British Baking Show’ Season 5: Why This New Season Isn’t Really “New”

The Great British Baking Show is returning to PBS tonight with an all-new season! Sound too good to be true? Well it is. IT’S A LIE!

Okay, so technically, yes, Paul, Mary, Sue, and Mel are back in the tents with a new batch of bakers to see who can reign supreme as the best amateur baker in Great Britain. The contestants are all new faces, and the challenges are daring feats of flour sifting we’ve never seen before. Nevertheless, PBS is selling this as something it’s not: namely a “new” season of the show. Though it’s new to us Americans, it’s not really new at all. In fact, it’s kind of a brilliant cover up for what’s really happened to the franchise in the last year….

Is There A New Season of The Great British Baking Show on PBS Tonight?

Tonight, American viewers are getting an all new (to us) season of The Great British Baking Show. There will be a two-part premiere debuting on PBS at 9PM ET. Teaser: The first episode is all about “Cakes,” and episode 2, airing right afterwards, tackles “Bread.”

PBS is calling this The Great British Baking Show Season 5, but that’s kind of them fudging with facts.

So Why Isn’t The Great British Baking Show Season 5 Technically “New”?

Because technically, it’s old. It’s six years old. “Season 5” of The Great British Baking Show is actually Season 3 of The Great British Bake Off (aka the British name for the same show).

PBS first started airing the hit reality show a few years ago, and they started with an already stale season — the show’s proper Season 5, which aired in the UK in 2014. Since then, we’ve gotten Seasons 6, 7 and 8, but they’ve been presented as Seasons 2,3, and 4 by PBS. And we’ve always gotten them a year after they run in Great Britain, to boot.

Now PBS is telling us that this is the next season in the series, when really it’s more of a prequel. We’re skipping back to the seasons we missed. Which is great if you want more episodes of The Great British Baking Show, but it also conveniently covers up a point of controversy.

Why Would PBS Do This?

Well, one, it probably comes down to rights deals. This is likely the first time that PBS can air the original Season 3 of the show. However, it also distracts Americans from some behind-the-scenes upheaval.

About two years ago, things got sticky when the time came to re-negotiate the BBC’s contract with The Great British Baking Show‘s production house, Love Productions. Instead of staying with the BBC, Love Productions made a lucrative three-year deal with rival station Channel 4, and only Paul Hollywood agreed to stick with the show. Mary Berry, Mel and Sue, stuck with the BBC. The first iteration of the Channel 4 Great British Baking Show aired last year, with South African baking guru Prue Leith as Paul Hollywood’s new co-judge, and Noel Fielding and Sandi Toksvig as the new Mel and Sue.

However, it would seem that like Mary, Mel, and Sue, PBS is sticking with the BBC. Hence why we’re getting the old un-aired seasons instead of the brand spanking new episodes from last summer.

Where Can I Stream The New Season of The Great British Baking Show?

If you miss the premiere tonight, you should be able to stream the episodes you miss on the PBS streaming app or PBS.org. Note: there may be a time limit on how long those episodes are available for viewers without a PBS Passport account.

Is The Great British Baking Show Season 5 on Netflix?

Alas. Netflix only has the first four seasons of The Great British Baking Show (that have aired in the US) to stream. Typically, they get new seasons a few months after a full season airs on PBS. So chances are, this new season will eventually make it to Netflix, but it will be after its complete run on PBS.

Where to Stream The Great British Baking Show