American viewers in search of comfort food will have a new season of The Great British Baking Show—also known as The Great British Bake Off—to consume beginning next week.
On Tuesday, Netflix announced that the show will return September 25, the same day the new season debuts on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom. As happened previously, new episodes will be available weekly to Netflix subscribers in the United States—three days after The Great British Baking Show airs overseas.
Production on the show resumed in July despite the coronavirus pandemic. Contestants and crew were placed into a bubble to complete production, and tested three times before being allowed to even enter the quarantined venue.
“It was a massive operation, we even built 12 practice kitchens for the bakers to use on their days off,” Kieran Smith, a Love production executive, said in an interview. All told, the shoot lasted six weeks, with production occurring on a cadence that allowed for two days off for every two days worked. (Normally, The Great British Baking Show gives contestants five days between shooting episodes, during which they can return home to practice.)
Beyond the health and safety changes on the show, season 11 will also feature a new co-host, Matt Lucas (Bridesmaids), who replaces Sandi Toksvig.
“He was practically living with the bakers,” executive Letty Kavanagh said in an interview. “It felt like he had always been there.”
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