Friday, April 5, 2013

Food Network's Kitchen Ambush Is Done

Kitchen Ambush, which had its pilot episode premiere on Sunday March 25th at 11:30am, and was replayed on Monday March 26th at 6pm, doesn't look like it will be turned into a series.  The first episode was a pilot with Alex Guarnaschelli and Robert Irvine competing against each other. 

I thought it was a pretty good concept that could have worked, and it seemed like most people on here liked it as well.  However, it appears the ratings were not good enough for the show to get picked up for a series.  Maybe it was due to the random times that it was on and the fact that there wasn't much advertising for the show.

On Twitter, Marc Summers, the producer of the pilot, was asked:
















The same question was posed to Robert Irvine, who killed it totally, saying it didn't get enough viewers:




















If you caught the pilot, do you think this series could have worked?  Do you think it was the timeslot that made it fail?

6 comments:

  1. I watched the pilot but wouldn't have watched again because it seemed totally set up and phony. They used camera shots from inside the refrigerator that couldn't possible have been done with no advance preparation and the couple had ingredients on hand that made no sense given their stated lifestyle. He had a good job and she said she stayed home but he was responsible for the dirty kitchen and for cleaning. What does she do all day? On a positive note, Alex was very pleasant in this role and Robert Irvine was less of a jerk than he is on his own shows.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Agree with you about the ingredients they had on hand considering they ate out every night. I think the show could have worked with some adjustments. Using different chefs each episode, with maybe the winner staying on til they lose. I probably would have eliminated the host at their house, or at least got someone different.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I never saw the pilot with Alex , but this would have Been a great opportunity for Justin Warner to show us his cooking magic , - I know he would do an excellent job morphing and. Cooking with the ingredients on hand . Maybe , lets say if Rebels eats re- air isn't received again , maybe you could try an "Rebel Eats " kitchen Ambuish type show would be an idea so Justin could cook and show us his innovative food pairings .

    ReplyDelete
  4. They didn't advertise it and put it on at times when viewership is low. I don't think it was given a fair chance at all.

    ReplyDelete
  5. They didn't do ANY advertising! And the original version back in the early days of FN, Door Knock Dinners, hosted by Graham Elliott was WAY better. To this day my mother will bring up that show. It was such a great show, Elliott was a phenomenal host, bringing a guest chef with him to cook whatever they had on hand. I believe Paula Deen and Tyler Florence were a couple of the chefs he brought along. Great show. The concept can work again with the right format, I believe it would actually work alot better with a really strong host, and 2 rotating, more up-and-coming chefs competing.

    ReplyDelete