In Defense of ‘The Great British Baking Show’ in 2020

I’ve begun to notice that folks are angry about The Great British Baking Show. The Ringer laid out a five-step plan to save it this week and Eater complained it’s no longer cozy. And look, I get it. I feel it. As Decider’s Great British Baking Show point person, I, too, have noticed a change in the show’s tone and style over the last few years.

Here’s the thing: The Great British Baking Show has actually gotten better…in comparison to the absolute train wreck it was last season. The judging this season has been way more fair. Noel Fielding has significantly matured as a host. Paul Hollywood has been restrained with his handshakes and Prue Leith with her acid-tongued critiques. If you want to lament the current state of The Great British Baking Show, I get it. The issue is you’re a year too late.

The Great British Baking Show has been on the air in its native UK since 2010. While PBS started showing off seasons stateside in the mid ’10s, the show didn’t become a huge American favorite until it migrated to Netflix. It was around this time that the show’s parent company, Love Productions, was ready to renegotiate its contract with the BBC. When a rival British station, Channel 4, offered more money, the show switched networks and was literally never the same again. Hosts Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins and judge Mary Berry refused to leave the BBC. So Noel Fielding and Sandi Toksvig became the show’s new hosts and Prue Leith took over for Berry.

However, with the change in personalities, The Great British Baking Show also suffered a change in tone. Paul Hollywood became even more of a peacock, bestowing something called “the Hollywood handshake” on impressive bakes. Prue Leith revealed a slightly more sharp judging style than her predecessor. While Noel and Sandi never quite connected like long-time IRL BFFs Mel and Sue. It was all fine until last season, when the energy went off the rails. Hollywood handshakes were given out like free coupon fliers, Prue told a contestant their bake was literally “nasty,” and Noel and Sandi seemed miserable to be there. Worse, the judging leaned hard into favoritism. It was a bonkers season where anything could happen and often did.

Cut to 2020. Love Productions was faced with a herculean task: how to film a new season of the beloved show in the middle of a pandemic. That they pulled it off at all should be commended. That it’s a huge improvement over last season is a triumph.

Yeah, this new season of The Great British Baking Show is 100% better than last year’s. Paul has joked about his Hollywood handshake, but been sparing in giving it out. That means it feels special again. Prue has been much less cruel with her retorts (though NYC has a bone to pick with her about babka). And when Sandi Tokvig has left the tent, it forced Noel Fielding to step up as a host. (New co-host Matt Lucas is still finding his feet, but has been mostly sweet. A must in a host.)

But the biggest improvement comes down to judging. The person who makes the biggest mistakes in terms of the technical side of their bakes has been the one to get the boot. Moreover, we’ve already said goodbye to early fan favorites like Sura and Rowan. While you might have cringed at the brownie debacle last week or the hilarious cake busts in Episode 1, the important part is the judging for these challenges was totally fair.

I think what people are bemoaning this season is the realization that The Great British Baking Show in 2020 is not a carbon copy of what it was in 2015. People are nostalgic not only for Mary Berry, Mel and Sue, but the way the world was back then. The Great British Baking Show wasn’t the only thing that felt “cozier” in the past. Life was cozier! All the changes that have been made only reflect how much our lives have changed, to boot.

Finally, maybe this is just me, but I’m willing to cut The Great British Baking Show a little more slack this year. It’s something of a production miracle that we even have new episodes of the show this year. Moreover, this year’s cast of bakers, the hosts, judges, and crew had to sacrifice time away from their loved ones to make the season. Sure, I’d happily give up my tenure living alone in a one bedroom apartment in New York City for a chance to escape to a “Bake Off Bubble,” but it was a sacrifice they all made nonetheless. Putting all this into perspective — and the fact that most of the problems the show had last season have been corrected — and I’m 100% rooting for The Great British Baking Show.

Maybe the show’s changed since the halcyon days of Mary Berry, Mel & Sue, and a tent full of far less social media savvy bakers. But we’ve all changed. The Great British Baking Show has had some stumbles in the last few years, but all evidence suggests the loving spirit of the show perseveres. More importantly, so far this season is a lot better than it was last year! And if anything, that suggests that the show could improve even more… As could everything else.*

The Great British Baking Show will never be the same, but that also doesn’t mean it’s as bad as you might think.

*LOL, maybe that’s too optimistic?

Watch The Great British Baking Show on Netflix