ABC Reportedly Plans to Bring Back ‘Great American Baking Show’

ABC is reportedly in the works of bringing back The Great American Baking Show without former judge Johnny Iuzzini.

After the alphabet network pulled their adaptation of The Great British Bake Off following an investigation into sexual misconduct accusations against judge Johnny Iuzzini, network execs are now reportedly working on bringing the series back, with staffers currently casting new contestants.

“It has come as a shock to many, but ABC are recasting for The Great American Baking Show. After all the scandal of last year surrounding Iuzzini, the network acted like they were pulling the show off air seemingly forever,” an ABC insider told the Daily Mail.

“It was not mentioned in the media in upfront previews as a returning series, but word has come down from the top that it is back. Just a month ago, it was thought the show was done for good. But it has been given a last second reprieve.”

ABC pulled the plug on the series in December and axed Iuzzini after accusations of sexual misconduct against the judge began to arise in November. Several women who worked for Iuzzini at Jean-Georges, an exclusive four-star restaurant in Trump Tower, claimed that he had touched them and other employees inappropriately with kitchen utensils, vegetables, and knives.

ABC was quick to release a statement regarding their move to suddenly pull the remaining episode of the series.

“In light of allegations that recently came to our attention, ABC has ended its relationship with Johnny Iuzzini and will not be airing the remainder of The Great American Baking Show episode. ABC takes matters such as those described in the allegations very seriously and has come to the conclusion that they violate our standards of conduct. This season’s winner will be announced at a later date,” a spokesperson for the network said at the time.

Should the series make a comeback, the absence of Iuzzini will not be the only change, as the network’s recasting process reportedly calls for a reviewing of the judges.

“ABC’s recasting process involves reviewing their team of judges. There is a suggestion of changing the show name and hiring an entirely new judging panel, leaving Paul Hollywood out in the cold,” the inside source added.

The revival of the series, reportedly set to begin production this summer and premiere around Christmas, comes in the wake of ABC cancelling cooking/talk show The Chew, presumably a result of sexual misconduct allegations against chef Mario Batali, and the cancellation of Roseanne following the star’s racially insensitive tweets.