Food Network's New 'Baking Championship' Spinoff Challenges The Next Generation Of Bakers

The "Baking Championship" television series has inspired countless households and launched aspiring bakers to full careers. It's where the layperson learns the basics of how to build a gravity-defying cake and gets ideas for flavor combinations like spicy tamarind-jaggery gingersnaps. The show has sparked a few spinoffs, like "Holiday Baking Championship," where you'll learn how to sweeten your holidays with Christmas cookies from around the world, and craft other seasonal desserts. And now, you can tune in to watch sibling pairs go head-to-head in a new baking show set to air in 2026.

"Baking Championship: Next Gen" will premier on Food Network on January 5 at 8 p.m. ET/PT, with a qualifying round set to last two hours and feature 12 teams of kids ages 8 to 14. They'll be competing for bragging rights, while aiming to impress the show's hosts and judges, Duff Goldman and Kardea Brown. You can stream episodes the day after they air on HBO Max and Discovery+.

"Fans will be wowed by these hilariously precocious and equally talented kids," teased Betsy Ayala, head of content, food, for Warner Bros. Discovery, in a press release announcing the event. "The sibling dynamic brings out the unique personalities of these young bakers and adds so much fun and sweetness resulting in a nail-biting competition with a lot of heart."

Young competitors will gather for the first round of competition in a kitchen built like a pastry school — and the first two challenges aren't even technically part of the competition. Competitors will discover that they are, indeed, appearing on "Baking Championship: Next Gen" during the first episode and will then go through two rounds of skills tests designed to eliminate two of the 12 original teams. One of the tests will put the teams' cupcake baking to the test (Fingers crossed that a team attempts a batch of pizza cupcakes for primetime snacking); the second challenge will ask bakers to whip up a pie from scratch. The 10 surviving teams will move on to the main competition.

Baking teams are made up of sibling pairs from all around the United States. The show will be comprised of eight episodes, featuring challenges like "breakfast dessert imposters," "cream puff friendship bracelets," and "animated cakes," according to a press release. Competitors will also glean a few tips and lessons from Goldman and Brown, both seasoned bakers who have served as judges, led cooking demos, and hosted various seasons of the Food Network "Baking Championship" franchise in the past.