One network mainstay seems to be assured a place at New Fox, and that’s Gordon Ramsay. The chef turned TV personality’s latest series at the network, 24 Hours to Hell and Back, has been renewed for a second season after just two episodes.
“Gordon gives 100 percent in everything he does, and he took on the task of turning these restaurants around wholeheartedly,” Fox alternative and specials president Rob Wade said Wednesday in a statement. “He may be these owners’ harshest critic, but he’s also their biggest champion, because he wants them to succeed. When all is said and done, it’s really Gordon’s heart that resonates with viewers, and we can’t wait to see who he helps save next season.”
24 Hours to Hell and Back is one of four Ramsay series currently on the Fox lineup, joining Hell’s Kitchen, Masterchef and Masterchef Junior. The show follows Ramsay to several struggling restaurants across America, instituting as many changes as possible in a 24-hour time period to help the business owners get back on the right track. It has enjoyed an atypically solid ratings performance during what is thus far a lackluster summer for Big Four launches, averaging a 1.4 rating among adults 18-49 in the latest live-plus-7 returns and 5.2 million multiplatform viewers.
Ramsay’s broad reality offerings seem to be in line with the direction Fox is going. The post-merger network, which will see 21st Century Fox’s entertainment assets sold off to either Disney or Comcast, looks likely to focus on sports and lower cost efforts. Just one day earlier, the network finalized a deal to start airing WWE’s Smackdown Live every Friday starting in 2019. That will eat up an entire night previously devoted to original programming.
24 Hours to Hell and Back is produced by Studio Ramsay. Its eight-episode summer run continues Wednesday night and lasts through July.
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