Sugar Rush

Show is fine, just your average baking competition but the host is terrible. He takes regular situations and makes them awkward with his weird commentary. Literally anyone else could do that job better.

Sugar Rush serves well as eye-candy. There's vibrant colors, talented bakers, and impressive designs. BUT - there's no personality to the show. The tone is very off-putting.

Competitive baking shows are hard to do right. You want them to be educational, as you want to educate the viewer about baking so they can be more engaged while watching, but you want it to be entertaining at the same time by building tension and drama. It's a hard mixture to get right.

Where this show falls short is when you compare it to the masterclass competitive baking show that is the Great British Baking Show (Great British Bake Off). GBBS focuses on the craft and process of baking, emphasizing technique and knowledge of baking more so than pure aesthetic. This lets the viewer craft profiles of the contestants as they learn more of what each baker's style is. In addition, GBBS has a calm, relaxing tone to the show while still maintaining its competitive traits.

Sugar Rush is essentially a toned-down version of Zumbo's Just Desserts (which is awful outside of Zumbo's creations) that has been slightly improved, but the core recipe that they're working with simply isn't going to work. Fancy cupcakes, points, buttons, and bright lights are nothing but fluff without engagement and emphasis on the process that gets them there.

The host is a snooze and the amazing resource of Zumbo's presence is not used at all.

Compared to some of the other cooking competitions Netflix has rolled out most recently (Nailed It comes to mind), this one is definitely above the rest. The borrowed time strategy adds a flair of uniqueness that keeps the relatively dated concept new. The host, on the other hand, comes off as that kind of middle manager that everyone's had at some point in their life, and is overly condescending to the contestants - it made the show difficult to watch whenever he came on. I think they were trying to have him motivate the contestants, but he clearly is not equipped to do that when his form of motivation is outright negative.

I don't know why so many other reviewers are criticizing the host. It is obvious that there is a bit more planning that goes on behind the scenes, since the contestants have access to things that wouldn't normally be in a standard pastry kitchen. However, I think the host adds a lot of enthusiasm to the show. One of the things I love is that it is always surprising and enjoyable, but doesn't have the negative drama that is present on some cooking shows. This is one show that my husband, my 5 yr old granddaughter and I can all watch together.