Netflix revives classic competitive cooking show – and it just hit the top 10
Cooking shows are all the rage right now, especially on Netflix. So it’s no surprise that the rebooted version of Iron Chef, which was an incredibly popular show in its own right in its own right, just made it into the top 10 on Netflix.
Iron Chef: The Quest for the Iron Legend was released on Netflix last week and currently sits at number 7 on the top 10 Netflix TV shows. That means he’s joining the likes of the Peaky Blinders, Melissa McCarthy God’s Favorite Idiotand the ever-dominating Stranger Things.
What is Iron Chef: In Search of the Iron Legend?
The original Iron Chef was a Japanese show that ran from 1993 to 2002 and spawned a series of spin-offs around the world. The longtime American spin-off ran from 2005 to 2018 on the Food Network.
It’s unclear why the show was taken off the air, or if it was ever canceled in the traditional sense, but it’s back on Netflix now.
Iron Chef: Quest for an Iron Legend is bringing back co-host Elton Brown and chairman Mark Dacascos, with Kristen Kish joining Brown as host. The show also features five local Iron Chefs and, as before, the competition revolves around cooking with a secret ingredient.
If this all sounds familiar, it’s because everything is very similar to the original premise. The key difference is that the highest scoring contender returns in the season finale. Here they fight against all five Iron Chefs in hopes of becoming the new “Iron Legend” and leaving with the Golden Knife.
We won’t offer any spoilers on what’s going on, only that you can watch the entire eight-episode season 1 right now, in true Netflix drunken style.
What do critics think of Iron Chef: Quest for a New Iron Legend?
Iron Chef: Quest for an Iron Legend currently has 60% rating on Rotten Tomatoes (will open in a new tab)based on five reviews from critics, audience rating not yet available, but the show has a rating 7.2/10 on IMDB (will open in a new tab).
Joel Keller (will open in a new tab) in Decider says “If you’re a fan, you’ll find this new season will be TV fodder”, while Common Sense Media Melissa Camacho (will open in a new tab) gave the series a 3.5 and described it as “a fun, energetic reboot”. [that] includes all the fast-paced cooking competitions the series is known for.”
Nonetheless, Wenley Ma (will open in a new tab)from News.com.au called the show “mundane” and “not worthy of the Iron Chef name”. Andy Denart (will open in a new tab) of Reality Blurred was no less critical, giving the show a C-grade and calling it “an average showcase of talented chefs that has been overshadowed by competitions for earners.”
So from the looks of it, fans of the original show will either be fascinated by the return of the Iron Chef format or shocked by what the classic cooking show has become.
Should I watch Iron Chef: In Search of a New Iron Legend?
If you’re a fan of cooking shows and the original Iron Chef series, you’ll probably want to add this to your watch list. However, with just eight episodes, each 46 to 50 minutes long, the entire season is just over six hours long.
In other words, it won’t take you long to get through it all, and you may want to tune into yourself.
But the short lead time also means that Iron Chef doesn’t require a particularly large commitment. It’s not a show like Stranger Things season 4, which promises to plunge you waist-deep into the finale for two and a half hours after all.
Plus, aside from the ending, each episode is standalone so you don’t have to try and watch it all in one sitting. So at least it will be something you can attach to your TV if you need something quick and non-committal to watch for 45 minutes.
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