From sneakers to wallets to cash registers, there's everything creative in Netflix's baking competition series Is It Cake? It's as deceptive as the viral meme that inspired the show. Here's how it works: In each episode, three celebrity judges are tasked with determining which set of everyday objects are real and which set are surreal lookalikes made from cake. If the judges correctly identify the cake, the person who baked it is eliminated from the series. If multiple bakers cheat a celebrity, judges will determine the winner of a $5,000 prize per episode. (Bonus bonus if the winner can spot the fake on their own.)
These elaborate cakes are all made within eight hours, and the winning designer will receive a bigger prize. In the season finale, three previous winners will compete for the $50,000 grand prize of "Is This a Cake?" Yes, it really is that simple - contestants know how ridiculous it all sounds. "What I do is the weirdest thing in the world," baker Jonny Manganello said on the show. "It's like, someone's saving lives, and I'm making the cake look like something else."
Despite its simplicity, is it a cake? The show was a success, topping the Netflix top 10 in its first week of release on March 18. Here's everything you need to know about the streamer's latest hit show.
Is this a cake? host
The show is directed by "Saturday Night Live" star Mickey Day. "Man, I should have watched a baking show before I did this," he joked of his hosting role on the show. This self-deprecating, irreverent humor continues throughout the season, including when he joked that "they gave an idiot a machete," referring to himself. Yes, the comedian actually uses said machete to cut into various objects to reveal whether they are cakes or not.
After becoming a writer on "Saturday Night Live ," Day spent his first season as an actor starring in the "Haunted Elevator" sketch with Tom Hanks (ft. David S. Pumpkins) and his portrayal of Donald S. Jr. Trump’s impression was recognized. He previously served as an actor on Nick Cannon's MTV series Wild 'N Out for seven seasons and has appeared in Brittany Runs a Marathon, Little and Hubie Halloween, in addition to Also voiced several Robot Chicken characters.
Is this a cake? Judge
To win a cash prize, each baker must fool a panel of celebrity judges, for whom spotting the fakes won't be an easy task. "One of them is cake?!" actor Chris Witaske exclaimed at one point. Here’s the full list of Season 1 judges:
- Damon Patterson
- Fortune Feimster
- Hu Qizong
- Hester Sunshine
- Jason Bolden
- Michael Yo
- Camille Kostek
- Chris Vitasik
- Kelly Edwards
- Courtney Parchman
- Phinnis Mitchell
- Farley Elliott
- Arturo Castro
- Rebecca Black
- Jon Gabrus
- Tony Locke
- king princess
- Lyrical Lewis
- Brittany Broski
- Heidi Gardner
- Dan Adut
- Loni love
- Bobby Moynihan
- Karamo Brown
Is this a cake? Contestants
The nine bakers who appeared in the first season of " Is It Cake? " are Andrew Fuller, April Julian, Desiree Saraveria, Herm Basu, Joni Manganeiro, Justin Rasmussen-Allen, Nina Charles, Sam Cade and Steve Weiss.
