Food Network Launches Kids-Only Baking Championship With Siblings šŸ”„ No one saw THIS twist coming. Food Network is expanding its Baking Championship universe—this time putting real-life siblings in the spotlight, and the pressure is about to get VERY real.

Hosts Duff Goldman and Kardea Brown sample Contestants Genesis and Akbar Brooks' dish, Vanilla Cupcake with Strawberry Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting, as seen on Baking Championship: Next Gen, Season 1.
Rob Pryce

Food NetworkĀ is expanding its ā€œBaking Championshipā€ franchise with another spinoff show, this one focused on kid competitors who are siblings.

Hosted and judged by Duff Goldman and Kardea Brown, ā€œBaking Championship: Next Genā€ will debut Jan. 5 at 8 p.m.

Per the description for the new series, Goldman and Brown ā€œhelm the jam-packed pastry journey that will give a whole new meaning to sibling rivalry when 12 teams of siblings aged 8-14 compete to win $25,000 and become the next generation of Baking Champions. The wholesome and delightful confectionary competition will launch with a supersized two-hour qualifying round to determine who will continue across the eight subsequent episodes to clinch the prize. Once the competition begins, the sibling collaborators will take on tricky challenges like ā€˜breakfast dessert imposters,’ ā€˜cream puff friendship bracelets,’ and ā€˜animated cakes.’ā€

New episodes of ā€œBaking Championship: Next Genā€ will be available to stream the following day on HBO Max and Discovery+.

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ā€œIn the supersized premiere, 12 young sibling teams will step into the pastry school style kitchen and learn that they must try out for their spot in the Baking Championship: Next Gen competition,ā€ reads the synopsis for the ā€œBaking Championship: Next Genā€ premiere. ā€œHosts and judges Duff Goldman and Kardea Brown will put the teams through two rounds of skills challenges to assess which ten teams will move on, and which two teams will be eliminated before the competition even starts. In the first skills test, the nervous teams put up a dozen of their best cupcakes. For the second skills test, the teams must create a pie from scratch good enough to prove they have what it takes to compete.ā€

 

The inaugural lineup of ā€œBaking Championship: Next Genā€ competitors include: Abby and Cameron Bellezza (Philadelphia, PA); Taanvi and Kavya Bhenderu (Cypress, TX); Genesis and Akbar Brooks (Seattle/Tacoma, WA); Jovie and Lenore Byler (Atlanta, GA); Harper and Holland Carroll (Boston, MA); Amelia and Clara Friesenhahn (New Braunfels, TX); Michael and Liam Nelson (Pleasant Grove, UT); Leila and Melody Nouri (Porter Ranch, CA); Emmett and Maci Sheets (Omak, WA); Leia and Kiera Sievert (Gilbert, AZ); Norah and Olivia Tatum (Dallas, TX); and Abigail and Kenneth Wolf (Geneseo, IL).

ā€œBaking Championship: Next Genā€ is produced by Sonic Dog for Food Network.

ā€œFans will be wowed by these hilariously precocious and equally talented kids,ā€ said Betsy Ayala, Head of Content, Food, Warner Bros. Discovery. ā€œThe sibling dynamic brings out the unique personalities of these young bakers and adds so much fun and sweetness resulting in a nail-biting competition with a lot of heart.