Why a ‘MasterChef Junior’ season 2 is almost a lock to happen
Tonight, Fox is going to air their final episode of “MasterChef Junior,” and this really was the Little Engine that Could of Fox reality shows. It may not have been a ratings beast on Friday night, but it was fun; not only that, but it actually had really great DVR numbers. How many times can you say that about a reality competition show?
The reason why this pint-sized version of the show became a success is probably because there is not that much in the way of stakes for the winners or the losers, and therefore it’s possible to watch after the fact and not feel too spoiled. This is not a show where the losing cooks are going to be forced into their old jobs and not being able to continue their dreams. These people are all still so young (think between the ages of eight and thirteen), and this is basically going to cooking camp with the chance to enter the real world again ready to become that much better of a hopeful chef in the future.
The biggest winners of all here are Joe Bastianich, Gordon Ramsay, and Graham Elliott for proving that they can handle kid cooks with just as much grace as they would adults. They are encouraging, but critical of little things when they need to be. If a contestant starts to panic, they actually go and help them make sure that they don’t leave feeling like a loser. This is a learning experience, and not a chance to watch someone go down in flames. It’s probably as far from “Hell’s Kitchen” as a show in the same genre can be.
Even though there is no season 2 renewal yet, all of the reasons above should serve as good evidence as for why it will happen. Not only that, but Ramsay has yet to see one of his shows get the outright boot from Fox. There are still more “Hotel Hell” and “Kitchen Nightmares” episodes coming, and both “Hell’s Kitchen” and the original “MasterChef” are coming back. What we are basically saying here is that Ramsay has way more money than many states in America at this point.
We’ll have our full review of the “MasterChef Junior” finale at this link come 9:00 p.m. Eastern time, so be sure to just head there and refresh the page around then to check it out.
Photo: Fox