‘MasterChef’: Will the series be renewed for season 8?

MasterChef -

Tonight, Fox is concluding its seventh season of “MasterChef” with a two-hour finale, and we’ve got a pretty good group of contenders left in David, Brandi, and Shaun who are all talented enough to take the title. Over the course of this episode, we’ll learn more about who they are as people, and eventually also what they want to do moving forward in their culinary careers.

Unfortunately, going into tonight (or at least as of 1:20 p.m. Pacific time Wednesday), we have no confirmation as to what the series’ future is going to be — though we have to assume that it is bright. This is a show that has maintained fairly steady ratings throughout the summer, averaging a 1.2 rating in the 18-49 demographic in live+same day viewing. While that may be a drop of around 15% versus season 6, in this contested climate that drop is not all that bad. Also, consider the competition including “Big Brother” and the “America’s Got Talent” results show.

One other thing that will be interesting to see is if the show gets renewed, whether or not Fox decides to bring on board a new permanent judge alongside Gordon Ramsay and Christina Tosi. Our personal pick from the guests we saw this summer would be Edward Lee, since we feel like he’s got a unique point of view plus the right mixture of humor and heart. All of them ultimately did a fine job, though, and we’d be glad to see any of them again.

If you want to feel all the more comfortable about the show’s future, remember this: Fox’s empire may be Gordon Ramsay just as much as it is the actual show “Empire.” The chef has been in business with them longer than we can even remember. We expect a renewal, and we’ll have more news when it is available.

Want to get some other news when it comes to tonight’s finale? Then be sure to head over here, since that is where you can see a new sneak peek! Also, sign up over here to secure some other TV news on everything we cover, sent right over to you via our official CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo: Fox.)

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