Joel McHale Teases Whole New Level for ‘Crime Scene Kitchen’ Season 2 (Exclusive)

The FOX smash hit summer reality competition series Crime Scene Kitchen is returning for Season 2 and host Joel McHale is excited about the culinary cooking guessing game’s eventual return — especially as it levels up big time from its premiere last May. While in support of Rold Gold’s Gold Hunter campaign now on from June 28 to Sept. 11, McHale tells PopCulture.com there is a fun twist to this next season’s competition.

“Boy, you hear all the cliches like this year’s competition is even better and I would say the level I thought last year was — the level of skill was off the charts,” McHale told PopCulture exclusively. “[But] this year, I would say that it is. They’ve brought together like, classically trained bakers and then self-taught and they kind of have those two different camps going at each other.”

Admitting how this dynamic brings a “whole new element” to the usual mystery and hilarity among delicious bakes, McHale said it is exciting to see who can pull off these incredibly elaborate desserts. “There might be even more than that as far as dishes go and you have Curtis Stone, Yolanda Gampp, who really know what they’re talking about,” he said of the Crime Scene Kitchen judges and professional chefs. “And then you get me who doesn’t because desserts are the one part of cooking that I’ve always been intimidated by because the precision it takes to really pull those off is — I mean, it’s like when I see, I don’t know skiers doing aerials or I know how to ski, but that just seems totally out of my orbit and so it was always really cool to watch them, watch it come together and the level of skill and the years of training it takes. So, I think people will be very happy.”

McHale, who not only serves as the show’s host but the stomach audiences live vicariously through, reveals last year’s competition spurred his appetite to pack on the pounds after indulging in the multiple episodes filled with dessert after dessert. “Nine pounds last year, eight pounds this year because I was trying not to eat everything in sight,” he said. “But I can’t help myself. I was like, it’s right here. It’s in front of me. I have to have it!”

Described as a culinary guessing game, Crime Scene Kitchen sees bakers attempting to decode what type of dessert was made. With McHale hosting, each episode begins at the scene of the crime – a kitchen of crumbs and flour trails used to create a mouth-watering dessert that has since vanished. The bakers must attempt to recreate the recipe for the judges, who then determine how closely it matches the missing dessert. 

While the bakers get creative with their recipes, the Community star teased you might see some pretzels care of Rold Gold in the creations — or not. While awaiting Season 2 of the FOX reality series, fans of McHale can indulge in his new campaign as the beloved snack brand celebrates 106 years of Rold Gold goodness by offering more than $106,00 in real gold bars for pop culture aficionados who can solve clues and spot the beloved snack in 1980s film classics, iconic ’90s sitcoms, laugh-out-loud big-screen hits, sporting events, dramas, and any non-Rold Gold advertisements. Contest clues will also pop on digital platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Amazon and IMDb throughout the campaign, and all clues will be live on RoldGold.com as of June 28.

McHale, who has been a big part of pop culture thanks to his years on The Soup, is also a clue himself amid the brand’s newest bag design debuting nationwide this summer. “They thought it would be fun to celebrate their 106th anniversary by giving away more than a $106,000 worth of gold bars and so it’s a hunt for gold and people between now [June 28] and Sept. 11, there will be clues dropped throughout pop culture and through old references, it can be ’80 sitcoms, ’90s movies, music, sports. But if you see, or if someone sees, a Rold Gold bag or one of their pretzels in something, all they have to do is #Entry and #FoundGold and then tag the Rold Gold Twitter account and then they will be entered into the contest,” he said, revealing he too is a clue from a mega moment in pop culture featuring him and Rold Gold.

McHale reveals how contestants might be selected as one of the 60 random winners who are eligible to win more than $106,000 worth of gold bars. The actor’s clues involve housewife, scheme, inspector and friends. For more information and to find, tweet and win, head to Rold Gold’s official website.