‘Nailed It!’ Season 4 is on Netflix and Thank God for It

I just want to take a moment to thank god that Nailed It! Season 4 is on Netflix today. The zany cooking competition show is not just a beautiful ode to human failure, but a celebration of all things silly. You will laugh, you will roll your eyes, you will be transported to a candy colored world full of terrible cakes and hideous fondant work. But the 8 new episodes of Nailed It! on Netflix today aren’t just a fun escape from the pain of life right now, but a source of true inspiration. We need Nailed It! now more than ever.

Nailed It! debuted on Netflix two years ago in March 2018. Back then, it wasn’t clear what the show would be — a reality cooking competition show where non-bakers had to recreate elaborately decorated desserts?? — but it was immediately apparent that it was a bonkers, addictive delight. Hosted by hilarious comedian Nicole Byer and jolly dessert master Jacques Torres, Nailed It! became an absurdist descent into low stakes failure. Yes, the bakes turn out terrible. Yes, we are laughing at people screwing up on international TV. No, it’s not mean. That’s because everyone is in on the joke that the challenges are purposely impossible. Not only that, but messing up a cake won’t affect someone’s life or cause a person’s death.

So, yeah, things are rather awful right now. A horrific pandemic is sweeping the globe, claiming lives and forcing folks to hunker down in isolation. Given the amount of sheltering-in-place going on, people are finding themselves watching more and more television than ever before. We crave distraction, but most of all, we need joy. Nailed It! is precisely the kind of show that can provide the best sort of comfort right now. It’s light, frothy, funny, and most of all, familiar.

Nailed It! also celebrates trying new things. Contestants aren’t chosen because of their adept abilities in the kitchen. Part of the humor of Nailed It! is seeing folks pushed outside their comfort zone. Some of the adjustments the bakers make on the fly are insane, but also a sign of our enduring ingenuity as humans. We have the imagination to adapt under stressful conditions. Nailed It! shows us this.

Nailed It! is just a sweet, silly delight. It’s rabidly ridiculous and completely cordoned off it in its own bizarre universe. That’s why it’s the perfect thing to watch during your Corona-induced quarantine. It will help you blow off steam, while also maybe — just maybe — inspiring you to get in the kitchen to see if you can do better than the disasters on display.

Watch Nailed It! on Netflix