‘Nailed It! Holiday’ is a Hilarious Triumph (Even if the Bakes are Fails)

When it first debuted back in March, I described Nailed It! as “joy incarnate.” So it makes perfect sense that the madcap baking competition is taking over the jolliest time of year. Nailed It! Holiday is a sublimely silly celebration of baking fails that will have you chortling through caroling season.

In case you’re new to Nailed It!, the show is a baking competition show with a zany twist: the bakers can’t really bake. So instead of watching seasoned professionals or brilliant amateurs race against the clock to produce wondrous creations, we watch some self-deprecating everyday folks bluster their way through nigh-on-impossible baking challenges. It could be mean, but co-hosts Nicole Byer and Jacques Torres lift the comedy to an absurdist place. We’re not laughing at the baking disasters; we’re laughing with them.

In just two short seaons, Nailed It! has also spawned its own strange little universe filled with weird rules and bonkers characters. There’s Wes, the curly-haired production assistant who routinely gets pulled into the proceedings, Sylvia Weinstock, a scene-stealing cake maestro who is back in the kitchen for the holidays, and of course, that Queer Eye crossover.

But Nailed It! Holiday pushes the brand forward in a tremendous way. It feels as thought everything that made the show such a sensational smash has been leveled up. The challenges are harder, the jokes are zanier, and the guest hosts are completely in on the jokes. The Holiday backdrop only adds to the show’s zing. After all, what makes Nailed It! compelling in the first place is how it punctures the reality of picture perfect bakes. Nailed It! Holiday speaks not only to our anxieties around getting our food Instagram-ready, but it undercuts the illusion of the perfect holiday.

Oh, and there’s a twist. The seventh episode is something totally new. The studio is magically transformed into a DIY crafter’s paradise. Jacques Torres is replaced by Martha Stewart’s favorite craftsman Jim Noonan, and the competitors have to battle it out making holiday crafts. That’s right, Nailed It! is coming for Making It‘s crafting crown.

That all said, the best part of Nailed It! Holidays has to be the chemistry between co-hosts Nicole Byer and Jacques Torres. When I first watched the show, I thought them to be an odd pairing. Byer is an aggressively hilarious absurdist comic and Torres is an internationally-renowned chocolatier. However, they clicked. And in Nailed It! Holiday, their chemistry reaches playful new heights. Torres, in particular, has proven himself to be an able comedy partner to Byer. His secret weapon is his devastating deadpan. And Byer has all the bearing and confidence of a true diva. Together, they are truly sublime.

Nailed It! Holiday‘s first season is seven episodes long and features guest stars Jason Mantzoukas, Ron Funches, Lauren Lapkus, Justin Willman, Gemma Stafford, Kate Berlant, and the queen, Sylvia Weinstock.

Watch Nailed It! Holiday! on Netflix