The ‘Great British Baking Show’ Could Save Us All

This week:

• The glorious return of The Great British Baking Show.

• The best part of The Office spinoff.

• Actually liking Meghan Markle’s show.

• The best casting news ever.

• All roads lead to Sex and the City.

No Soggy Bottoms Allowed!

There is a viral video trend that keeps surfacing on my social media timelines, where people are dared to try to evade employees and security and spend the night in places like Wal-Mart, IKEA, and movie theaters.

I have no idea why these keep being served to me, except for maybe the algorithm somehow senses my deep desire to escape from the horror that is “real life” right now. Except, if it was up to me, I wouldn’t be trying to sneak my way into an IKEA, as much of an affinity as I have for modular furniture and Swedish meatballs. I would be conning my way in to The Great British Baking Show’s tent.

That is my bunker from the storm. My refuge from the terror of today. My safe space.

Every new season, we’re reminded how nice it is to have a TV show that is, just, nice. Yet it still comes as a surprise.

I watched the new season’s premiere on Netflix Friday morning, and, as the credits rolled, felt as if 20 pounds had been lifted off my shoulders. A sort of ever-present headache that I’ve had for the last year remarkably, if only briefly, subsided. For one hour, I didn’t check my phone and, as is usually the case, sigh or scream in reaction to some news alert. I was merely just enjoying myself, stress-free, watching charming Brits bake Swiss rolls.

Since becoming a reality TV phenomenon over a decade ago, when the then-BBC series made its way to PBS in the States, before switching over to Channel Four and Netflix, the series has made “isn’t this nice?” its entire brand.

Sure, there have been controversies over the years, as happens to any show that becomes popular—even one as bucolic as The Great British Baking Show.

There was the cast turnover, via protest, when the series left the BBC. There were the Matt Lucas years (shudder). Let’s not forget the not-so-vague racism on display during the Mexico-themed challenge, or the uproar over whether the show was favoring hot, telegenic contestants.

But the episode that arrived Friday is the show at its best version of itself.

Alison Hammond is, quite possibly, the most charismatic presenter there has ever been on TV, and her sense of humor brings out the best in Noel Fielding, who has always been a welcome presence but whose sensibility never quite matched his previous co-hosts. Prue Leith is the ideal expert judge, someone whose immense experience and skill is obvious each time she speaks, but who also doesn’t take herself too seriously—and who has a really fun sense of fashion, to boot. And Paul Hollywood has, against all odds, become more likable each season. I think it’s the halo of Hammond, Fielding, and Leith being cast on him too.

The series is also smart in how it only ever slightly ups the ante or changes its format, to spice things up each year without overwhelming the palate. There are still three rounds: the signature bake, the technical, and the showstopper. The premiere’s signature Swiss roll challenge was standard fare. The technical changed things up by not including a recipe for the fondant fancies, which the bakers had to recreate based on taste. And the showstopper was landscape-themed, in other words just an excuse to make pretty cakes.

But, like most seasons, it’s not about what’s being baked, but the bakers themselves. I roll my eyes at the corniness of what I’m about to write, but it does feel quite meaningful, at this time, for the show to spotlight such a diverse cast of everyday people who live vibrant, eclectic lives, and who just happen to be talented bakers on top of that.

This season features Iain, a software engineer with a mullet who lives in Belfast. Pui Man is from Hong Kong, lives in Essex, and, despite her baking prowess, doesn’t actually eat sweets. Hassan is a yoga-loving analytical scientist. Jessica is a drag king in her spare time. Tom is, according to my notes, “Gay! Hot!” And Nataliia is the tent’s first contestant from the Ukraine, which, I don’t have to spell out why that is poignant.

I think the reason so many of us, even the cynical curmudgeons who would typically scoff at such earnestness, are drawn to The Great British Baking Show is because of the utopia it presents, which we get to escape to ourselves once a week while it’s airing.

Everyone is kind. There’s a constant giggle happening because everyone is so funny and seemingly unbothered. The stakes in the tent are high, but nothing compared to what we’re facing outside of it. It’s a humble reminder that life could and should be a lot more simpler. What is every day, except a series of soggy bottoms or good bakes that, regardless of which, we just move on from and go on to the next?

The Biggest Reason to Watch the Office Spinoff

People are going to have lots of opinions about The Paper, the much hyped spinoff of The Office that’s now on Peacock.

My take: Don’t think too much about it! It’s charming. I chuckled a lot. The cast is fun. Enjoy it!

Does it feel a little bit too much like The Office, but not quite as good? Duh. That was always going to be the case. Is it still fun to watch? Yes!

In any case, if there’s one thing to convince you to tune in, let it be this rave about the absolutely wild (complimentary) performance that The White Lotus star Sabrina Impacciatore is giving as Esmeralda.

She’s a former Married at First Sight star who is now a single mom and the managing editor of Toledo’s The Truth Teller, who runs its gossip-and-beauty centric digital presence TTT.com and, because of that, fancies herself as somewhat of a local Carrie Bradshaw.

As performed by Impacciatore, Esmeralda is a campy lunatic. Every line reading is a journey in and of itself, and her physical comedy choices are Lucille Ball-esque. I’m obsessed with her. Watch the show, and apply directly to me to join her fan club.

I Can’t Believe I Enjoyed This Show

I’ve never understood the hate for Meghan Markle. The hate for the first season of her Netflix show, With Love, Meghan, however…that I understood. It was one of the worst lifestyle shows I’d ever seen. So boring. So inauthentic. So pointless.

So color me surprised, then, to have begrudgingly started Season 2 of the series this week and finding myself watching and enjoying the entire run of new episodes.

The reason is simple: The show stopped pretending that the idiotic crafts and constant dressing of meals with edible flowers actually mimicked some sort of twee life that Markle absolutely doesn’t really live, and instead turned into more of a chat show. Markle basically just has friends over, they cook together, and they chit chat. It’s so much more fun to watch, and so much less insufferable.

Moreover, it’s a reminder of the charisma and natural charm that Markle has, which never came through in the first season. So congrats, Meghan! With love, Kevin.

The Casting of This Show Is So Good

Do they give Nobel Prizes to casting departments? If so, they should start engraving the names of the people who cast Oh, Mary! on Broadway onto the trophy now. (Is the Nobel Prize a trophy? Let’s pretend for the sake of this write-up.)

The best show there is right now on Broadway, Oh, Mary! has proven the genius of creator Cole Escola’s writing, as the star has been replaced several times by some of the most talented actors in the business and has remained as dementedly funny as it was the first time I saw them perform it off-Broadway.

30 Rock, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, and Ally McBeal alum Jane Krakowski was just announced as Mary Todd Lincoln, and it’s perfect casting. She follows the curls of Escola, Betty Gilpin, Tituss Burgess, and Jinx Monsoon, who have all played the role in the last year. I’m starting my GoFundMe now so that I’ll be able to see the show again.

I Couldn’t Help But Wonder…

It is my firm belief that there is a connection to Sex and the City for everything.

More From The Daily Beast’s Obsessed

I, an identical twin who is gay, interviewed the writer, director, and star of the movie about an identical twin who is gay. Read more.

I, a The Office superfan, interviewed the creators and stars of the The Office spinoff, The Paper. Read more.

I, a person who watches a lot of TV, wrote about the best things to watch this fall on some popular streaming services. Read more.

What to Watch This Week

Twinless: The biggest hit of Sundance, this movie is so surprising and good. (Now in theaters)

The Baltimorons: The title is a term of endearment, I swear! (Now in theaters)

Highest 2 Lowest: Denzel Washington gives one of his best performances in years. (Now on Apple TV+)

What to Skip This Week

Wednesday: Jenna Ortega deserves so much better than this shrug of an Addams’ Family series. (Now on Netflix)

Task: Why try to be the new Mare of Easttown when Mare of Easttown is perfect? (Sunday on HBO)