The TV show The Baker and the Beauty aired in April 2020 and included nine 40-minute episodes. The TV show presents a story of a baker, Daniel Garcia working for the family business, who meets a famous model Noa Hamilton (IMDb, 2020). The two try to develop a romantic relationship, although it is sometimes difficult due to the involvement of the family and the public’s attention to her life. The show received quite favorable reviews and has rather high ratings (7,3/10) (IMDb, 2020). At the same time, it has the lowest rating among ABC products (Andreeva, 2020). It was produced by ABC and based on an Israeli TV series that were hugely popular in that country. Although there were some considerations regarding the second season, the company decided to shut down the project.
One of the problems related to the TV show’s failure to remain on air was its inability to speak to the American audience. As mentioned above, the series is an adaptation of a popular Israeli TV show, where the story earned highly favorable reviews. Americans did not find the story that appealing, and only three million people watched it, which is regarded as a failure for an ABC TV program (Andreeva, 2020). Notably, while some TV shows had constraints due to the pandemics, the producers of The Baker and the Beauty thought it would be a hit during quarantine days when people watched TV shows extensively (Andreeva, 2020). The majority of the reviewers note that they have seen similar stories told in different ways, so the topic is rather played out (IMDb, 2020). Although the performance of the cast was praised, it was not sufficient for the audience.
The primary reason for the failure of the story, as well as the entire show, is its lack of originality. A love story of two people from different worlds has been on the air for decades since the inception of cinematography. Americans did not find it that captivating and preferred the original version. In a way, the availability of the original series was one of the reasons for the failure of the American version.
Overall, The Baker and the Beauty can be regarded as a mixture of good and weak aspects, making it good enough to survive one season but fail to remain on air further. The cast was favorably accepted by the audience, and some episodes seemed fun, according to the reviews (IMDb, 2020). At that, the filmmakers exploited the story that has been used many times without adding something unique. Moreover, the uniqueness of the film, as intended by the company, was confined to describing the life of a Hispanic family and featuring an LGBT character. However, these elements have been present in various highly popular TV series, so Americans have become accustomed to them and did not find the original.
As far as the contribution to the development of the cultural landscape, it is possible to note that the TV shows like the one under analysis should be selected by network executives. However, it is important to make sure that cultural stereotypes are properly included. The TV show in question displayed a Hispanic family without featuring major stereotypes, which could be one of the reasons Americans did not find it appealing. This approach is rather ineffective in terms of financial gains. It is necessary to feature a Hispanic family but make sure that the existing stereotypes are properly highlighted and subject to mockery. This kind of presentation of stereotypes can contribute to increasing people’s cultural awareness and gaining profit as such TV programs can be popular.
References
Andreeva, N. (2020). ‘The Baker and the Beauty’ canceled by ABC after one season. Deadline. Web.
IMDb. (n.d.). The Baker and the Beauty. Web.