“Good Eats” returned to Food Network back in August after a 7-year break with an 11-episode 15th season, aptly titled “Good Eats: The Return.” And while there are still a two shows left that will run back-t0-back as holiday specials (one a cocktail episode, the other focused on latkes) in December, Alton Brown’s fans are already clamoring for a Season 16.
Don’t worry though, guys, Food Network president Courtney White is on it.
“We are talking to Alton,” she told TheWrap last month. “That show is one of the most carefully crafted shows I think there ever was. So Alton coming out of that as the writer, the director– I mean, this is truly his vision.” Brown, who just got back from vacation, has been in talks with White about plans for next year.
“But we’re hoping to do more with him, and he’s obviously so passionate about ‘Good Eats,’ so we’re hoping for more to come,” she continued. “We’ve actually even been talking about, could we do ‘Good Eats’ Halloween next year? Which we would love to do. So we’re definitely in talks with him about what ‘Good Eats’ could look like in the future.”
White says that she’s not only been impressed with how the show has performed on the cable channel itself, but also the numbers it put up on digital platforms.
“What’s really incredible about Alton’s audience is he reaches an audience that is incredibly digitally savvy,” she said.
Not only has the network been happy with the linear ratings, they’ve also put the premiere episode on YouTube, garnering more than a million viewers within 48 hours, breaking Food Network records for our programs on YouTube.
“So his audience really finds his content everywhere,” White said. “And he really speaks to a young, tech savvy audience that is exciting for Food Network, because it’s just an extension of our content on other platforms, which is something that we’re doing more and more of.”
Food Network just launched its new streaming app, Food Network Kitchen, on Tuesday, and White says they are looking to “aggressively” create more digital content that performs as well as Brown’s program.
“It’s great to see a show that can find an audience on multiple platforms and that’s really one of the magical success stories of ‘Good Eats,’” White said.
By the way, Brown previously told TheWrap he’s on board for more “Good Eats,” as long as you’re watching it.
“That will be determined completely by ratings,” Brown said in August. “If people watch it, then the answer will be ‘yes.’ If people don’t watch it, the answer will be a resounding ‘no.’ Because it’s way too much work to do if nobody is going to be watching it. It’s a very different kind of show,” Brown said of the scripted, single-camera primetime cooking show. “We’ll see if people are ready for that again. I think that the fans will be, because they haven’t stopped asking for it in the last six years. But will that be enough people to keep it on air? I don’t know. Who knows?”
And if it doesn’t come back, there’s always “Good Eats: Reloaded,” which, as TheWrap previously reported, has already been renewed for Season 2.