Get ready for more strangely sweet interactions between Gordon Ramsay and adorably culinarily advanced children.
FOX confirmed the obvious on Thursday (December 19) morning, announcing that “MasterChef Junior” has been renewed for a second installment.
Casting on the second season of “MasterChef” will begin in New York city and Chicago on January 18.
Ramsay, Joe Bastianich and Graham Elliot will all return for the second season.
“‘MasterChef Junior’ is one of the few shows on television that the entire family can truly enjoy together, and I can”t wait to see what Gordon, Joe, Graham and the next round of rambunctious, ridiculously talented junior chefs cook up in Season Two,” blurbs FOX Entertainment Chairman Kevin Reilly.
[EDITORIAL ASIDE: Kevin Reilly is a head of one of the four (or five) broadcast networks on TV. Surely the fact that there are only a “few shows on television that the entire family can truly enjoy together” ought to concern him as it relates to programming beyond just “MasterChef Junior.”]
Airing on Fridays this fall, “MasterChef Junior” averaged 5.1 million viewers and led its time period in several young-skewing demographics. In addition, “MasterChef Junior” bucked the general trend for unscripted programming by getting a fairly large Live+7 DVR bump on a weekly basis.
Meanwhile, “Kid Nation” remains unrenewed.