‘Crime Scene Kitchen’ Season 2 Was Filmed a Very Long Time Ago

Fox’s Crime Scene Kitchen this week, and it was a long time coming. The cooking show, which mixes two of America’s favorite pastimes — true crime and baking — initially premiered in May 2021, with the first season running for only the following two months. It’s been two long years without the series, and it’s finally back. Evidently, though, host Joel McHale tells TVLine that Season 2 of  was filled over a year ago, and it wasn’t even supposed to air this summer at first.

“So, we shot these a year ago in April,” McHale shared. “And because we shot late, I think that Fox at first wanted it to be for summer [2022], and then it didn’t. So then they held it, and here we are. A year later. I know some of the folks on Stars on Mars (which leads into Crime Scene Kitchen Mondays at 8 pm), so hopefully, it’s a good pairing.”

It’s pretty wild that Crime Scene Kitchen was filmed a full year ago, especially given the fact that it was originally supposed to air last summer. It’s unknown why the network decided to not air the series last summer, but since it’s now being paired with the new competition series Stars on Mars, that seems to be a pretty good excuse. It’s possible that Fox wanted to find the perfect time to air it and the right show to pair it with. The wait is worth it, though, because now that Animal Control is done for the season, fans can still have Joel McHale on their screens for the summer.

As of now, it’s too early to tell whether or not Fox will renew the series for a third season, considering Season 2 did just premiere. Hopefully, if there is another season, the network won’t wait nearly as long to release the episodes as they did with the second season. Luckily, since McHale’s Animal Control for a second season, fans of the actor won’t have to go long without him. 

Due to the writers strike, however, it’s unclear when the comedy would return. Fox has yet to announce its fall schedule, so it could be a while until the network announces when Animal Control will premiere Season 2. In the meantime, though, new episodes of Crime Scene Kitchen do air on Mondays at 9 p.m. ET on Fox.