ABC’s New Show “The Chew” is Hard to Swallow

For those who are busy doing stuff…like work…and don’t get to watch daytime television, “The Chew” is a new ABC show “about food, family, and fun” that replaced long time soap “All My Children.” For producers, the show seemed like a good concept that perfectly targeted the right demographic…stay at home moms. However, they did not expect so much negative reviews from the press and the general public.

Lori Rackl, TV Critic for the Chicago Sun-Times wrote that “‘The Chew” acts as if America has never seen a food show,’ referring to same old dump and stir cooking demos.’ Even though there’s an all star cast of celebrity personnel such as Mario Batali, Michael Symon, Carla Hall (Top Chef), Clinton Kelly, and Daphne Oz the show doesn’t offer anything new. Even the news and debates about food is even too mundane or obvious to people in America Some compare the show to “The View,” but with food.

David Hinckley of the New York Daily News says:

All this is possible. On opening day, though, “The Chew” too often felt overstuffed, as if its celebrity crew were engaged in a speed-talking contest. That fast pace, a key part of the game plan, makes it hard to start relating to the panel. We need them to take some breaths.

Mikey O’Connell from Zap2It says:

After an introduction of hosts Mario Batali, Clinton Kelly, Carla Hall, Michael Symon and Daphne Oz and their proposed contributions to the group — Kelly likes shrinking entrees into appetizers because that’s “fabulous” — the motley crew dissolved into an hour of talking over each other and preparing random dishes with no linear thread. And because it’s always a good idea to take your biggest name out of the mix, Batali actually made his contribution via satellite from a golf course near the Statue of Liberty. (It might actually be part of his contract that he never has to witness this debacle first hand.) It is, if we haven’t made this clear already, a complete mess. Not that the many ways in which “The Chew” doesn’t work are really even a matter of opinion. The haphazard production would leave even the most attentive viewer wondering what exactly they were tuning into.

Here’s a promo for the show, let us know what you think: