By The Nerdling

Nailed It! Review: “The show where food and art collide, sometimes in a terrible accident.”

I love Food Network and the Cooking Channel.  I’m one of those weirdos who doesn’t get hungry watching people cook, but I do get the desire to run to the grocery store and spend way too much money on ingredients so I can recreate what the chefs are making.  Baking especially.  I love to bake.  But when it comes to making beautiful looking treats, I’m hopeless.  Nailed It! is certainly a show for someone like me.

Nailed It! was inspired by Insta pics of people attempting (and failing) to create those beautiful deserts they see on Pinterest.  The two-round competition takes the most crazy-ridiculous confections and has a trio of super-amateurs bake and recreate within a specific period of time.  The winner gets $10,000 and a gnarly looking trophy along with the opportunity to tell their families “see, I’m not so bad in the kitchen.”

While it is fun to watch these very nice people sweat their way through making a massive Shark Cake, a Donald Trump Bust Cake (which it is oddly satisfying so see how disastrous it turned out each time), or a Unicorn Drip Cake, the real fun of this show is Nicole Byer, the hostess with the mostess.  She livens up what would be in anyone else’s hands a typical cooking competition.

She is hilarious, full of positive energy that inspires each of the competitors to keep going when the going gets tough, and she does her best to make everyone feel good about what they made, even when it is the hottest of hot messes.  For those who know her from her web series Loosely Exactly Nicole, I just want to warn you, her brand of humor is toned waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay down for Nailed It!  A part of me is disappointed in that, but what can you do.  A little bit of Nicole is better than none.

Her co-host, Chocolatier Jacques Torres is also quite sweet to the bakers when their creations look like they took the original confection and left it inside their hot car for the last two hours.  His commentary are great tips for wannabe bakers.  Torres rolls with Nicole’s jokes really well too.  The two have a surprisingly nice chemistry going.

I look forward to the various running gags.  The relentless teasing of Wes, the adorable prop master, the helper button which has Nicole running around distracting two of the competitors to give one person an advantage, the blurry selfie at the end.

So, whether you are a master baker or a helpless armature like myself, Nailed It! is sure to delight.

Should I binge it?

Absolutely.  There are only two seasons so far, totaling in thirteen episodes.  Each episode is roughly 30 minutes each.  Easy to binge one Saturday when it is just too much to go and do something outside.

Will it make me want to bake my own super-fabulous treats?

I’m not going to lie, I may have attempted to recreate some of the first-round treats on the show.  I definitely did not nail it.  But is was a heck of a lot of fun trying.  Clean up afterwards was a bitch.

Can I watch it with my kids?

Absolutely!  Some times the humor can be slightly racy, but for the most part it is good family fun.  It might inspire you to want to bake with your kids.

Do I want cake now?

Dammit, yes I do want a piece of cake now.

Not that cake!

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The Nerdling was born in the majestic land known as Texas and currently resides there after several years of journeying through Middle Earth in a failed attempt to steal the one Ring from that annoying hobbit, serving the Galactic Empire for a time, and then a short stint as a crew member on the Serenity. Since moving back to her homeland, Nerdling flirted with a hero reputation. Saving children from the dangers of adoring domineering, sparkly vampires (champions with souls are the only vampires worth loving) and teaching normals the value of nerdom, all while rooting for her beloved Dallas Stars. Then came the Sokovia Accords and her short spell of saving others came to an end. With Darth Vader’s reputation rightfully returning to badass status, Nerdling is making her way back to the Empire. They do have cookies, you know. You can find her on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.