Nellie Andreeva

UK’s The Great British Bake Off, considered one of the hottest international reality formats at the moment, will get an U.S. adaptation by CBS. In a competitive situation, CBS has given a straight-to-series order to Bake Off (working title) for a launch next year. It will feature skilled amateur Americans competing in baking challenges with one ultimately being crowned the winner.

The Great British Bake Off, produced by Love Prods. and hosted by food writer Mary Berry and professional baker Paul Hollywood, has become a sleeper hit for BBC2, exploding in popularity since its 2010 launch. Last night’s third season finale peaked with 7.2 million viewers and averaged a series high 6.54 million (25.3% share among British viewers), beating its competitors on the more established BBC One and ITV1. The format has been successfully adapted on DR-1 in Denmark and on TV4 in Sweden, where it ranks as the highest rated show in the channel’s history. It also has been sold in Belgium, Poland, Australia, Ireland, Norway and France. Love Prods. USA will produce the CBS series with Richard McKerrow, executive producer on the original series, executive producing. CBS, NBC and ABC had been looking to enter the lucrative food reality space and join Fox, home of Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares and MasterChef, and Bravo, which has Top Chef.

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