Fox orders mystery baking contest with Joel McHale

Joel McHale

US-based Fox has commissioned a new investigative baking competition hosted by Community star Joel McHale.

Crime Scene Kitchen is produced by Fox Alternative Entertainment and Fly On The Wall Entertainment, with Conrad Green, Allison Grodner, Rich Meehan and Joel McHale attached to executive produce.

The show will debut on Fox and streaming platform Tubi on 26 May, following bakers as they are challenged to work out what kind of dessert was just made based upon a few remaining clues such as crumbs and flour trails.

Once they think they’ve figured it out, the cooks must then recreate the dish for celebrity judges, chef Curtis Stone and cake artist Yolanda Gampp.

“Hosting a show where bakers try to figure out and then duplicate a dessert from just crumbs, crusty whisks and a soiled electric mixer, seems like a lot of fun and reminds me of college. Can’t wait. I’ve already picked out my apron,” said McHale.

“Crime Scene Kitchen is unlike any cooking show out there,” said Rob Wade, president of alternative entertainment and specials at Fox Entertainment. “It’s a truly original format with amazing baking creations, a brilliant play-along guessing game for the whole family, and Joel at the center of it all bringing hilarity at every turn.”

This latest unscripted commission from Fox follows a recent order for Domino Masters, a new competition format being hosted by Modern Family star Eric Stonestreet.

Both join an expanding slate of unscripted shows for Fox alongside The Masked Singer, The Masked Dancer, I Can See Your Voice and Cherries Wild. Earlier this year, Wade told TBI that US and European networks needed to take more risks in their format commissioning.