How the producers of Nailed It! and Top Chef highlight diverse stories in Hollywood

EW Game Changers is a series profiling the people and projects making an impact in diversity, equity, and inclusion in entertainment.

There's nothing, arguably, more democratic than food — everyone needs to eat, after all. And the world of reality cooking shows, with its seemingly endless permutations of programming and personalities, is well-equipped to reflect diverse experiences. But that doesn't mean it always does.

Casey Kriley and Jo Sharon, co-CEOs of production company Magical Elves, have certainly seen the evolution of representation on culinary competitions — they're the team behind Top Chef, which premiered in 2006 and will kick off its 20th season next year, and Nailed It!, which debuted its seventh season Oct. 5. "If you go back 10 seasons [on Top Chef] you might see over the course of 14 episodes, 10 to 20 scallop dishes, a very high-end, culinary school type of cooking," says Kriley. "The last several seasons have been by far the most diverse in terms of not only the chefs but the guest judges, and what we discovered through that was it really opened up the type of food, cuisines, and cultures viewers are able to see on the show."

Still, Kriley says the Me Too and Black Lives Matter movements in recent years pushed the team to re-examine whether they were doing enough. "Being two women who are running the company as well as having so many women in key roles at the company, we had a lot of conversations about how we needed to and could do even better. We really not only looked at the diversity and inclusion in front of the camera, but behind the camera in our staff positions."

That meant partnering with BIPOC community organizations HUE You Know, Storyline Partners, and Color of Change to provide mentorship and employment opportunities, as well as signing on to Staff Me Up's Diversity and Inclusion Initiative to further educate and amplify their staffing goals. Since setting the goal in 2021, Magical Elves interviews at least 50 percent of applicants from underrepresented groups for open positions and have at least 50 percent diverse representation across all departments and on all shows (in addition to Top Chef and Nailed It!, their roster includes Project Runway and Brain Games).

Sharon is particularly proud of taking what they've learned on their Top Chef experience to hit the ground running with Nailed It!, which was an instant hit when it premiered in 2018. "The casting on Nailed It! has always been the secret sauce," says Sharon. "There are people from all walks of life, all socio and economic classes, but they all share this same spirit. They aren't afraid to try something that they're not good at and they don't care if they fail — that's what's resonated with the masses." According to Magical Elves, 66 percent of the crew on the current season of Nailed It! Halloween! are either women, BIPOC and/or part of the LGBTQIA+ community.

In 2020, comedian and Nailed It! host Nicole Byer became the first Black woman to ever be nominated for an Emmy in the Outstanding Host For a Reality or Competition Program category, and has since been nominated two more times. The show itself has been nominated for Outstanding Competition Program two years in a row.

"I truly hope it opens a door for other people to get to do what I get to do," says Byer of her groundbreaking achievements. "I've never hosted a cooking show like this before, and from the jump I was allowed to do basically what I wanted within reason. No one told me I needed to sound more like a traditional host, and for the most part I'm listened to. Have I gotten to fall out of the ceiling? Not yet, but there's still time for that."

As for Top Chef, it's been hosted by Padma Lakshmi (who was the first AAPI person nominated for an Emmy in the Outstanding Host For a Reality or Competition Program category in 2009) since its second season. Top Chef 20 will be an epic international battle between Top Chef all-star chefs who have competed on Top Chef spin-offs around the world. "The fact that we can be this far in and there are still new dishes and cuisines to introduce our audience to is exciting," says executive producer Doneen Arquines. "And truthfully, we've only just begun to scratch the surface." She says season 20 will show "a lot of dishes that have never been on Top Chef U.S. before, and I can't wait to bring that to our audience."

Kriley and Sharon will continue to work to promote diversity both on and off screen. "It's not just a short-term goal, you've got to look at the long-term goal: If you really want to have more diversity in the key top-level positions, you have to mentor and make sure people are supported when you
elevate them," she says. "It really gives you new stories that haven't been necessarily heard, and has an impact on a sense of community and awareness on television."

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