The Great British Baking Show – or The Great British Bake Off for those in the U.K. – is the definition of comfort television, as its many adoring fans can attest.
While simplicity is without a doubt the show’s winning recipe, its relationship with Netflix can only be described as complicated, and even more so over the course of the last year as early seasons of the show have now completely disappeared from the platform. This is only a problem for American viewers, as The Great British Baking Show only streams on the platform in the U.S.
Now, in order to understand why the early seasons of the show are no longer available on Netflix, we must first explain its complicated history with the streaming giant, and why the popular series has two different names anyway.
Breaking down The Great British Baking Show’s complicated history with Netflix
For starters, The Great British Baking Show refers to its seasons as “collections.” One would think “collection one” equals “season one,” right? Well, no. As it turns out, when collection one of the flagship show premiered in 2014 on BBC Two, it had already been airing since 2010 and effectively shot four seasons by then. So, what happened to the first four seasons?
Well, Netflix decided to create a spin-off series called The Great British Baking Show: The Beginnings in 2018. The spin-off was created strictly for the platform and served as a place for fans to revisit the seasons that never made it into the flagship series. It contained only the third season, 2012, strangely leaving out the two preceding seasons. Its fourth season, 2013, did not appear on The Great British Baking Show: The Beginnings however, because it was actually used as the second season – or collection two – in the flagship show. Are you confused yet? Here’s a little breakdown to help you out.
- Series 1 aired in 2010
- Series 2 aired in 2011
The Great British Baking Show: The Beginnings:
- Series 3 aired in 2012 and appeared on Netflix as The Great British Baking Show: The Beginnings
The Great British Baking Show:
- Collection 1 (Series 5) aired in 2014
- Collection 2 (Series 4) aired in 2013
- Collection 3 (Series 6) aired in 2015
- Collection 4 (Series 7) aired in 2016
Now, here’s where things get even more tricky. In 2010 when the show began, Love Productions had a seven year contractual agreement with BBC. The first four seasons premiered on BBC Two but after it become the most watched show on the network it was subsequently moved over to BBC One for the following three years, where it also held on to the title of most-watched show on the network, according to The Telegraph. However, when the seventh series – or collection four – ended in 2016, Channel 4 came knocking with a dollar sign bigger than the BBC was willing to offer, and thus the show as we knew it changed. It did not renew its contract with the BBC and instead moved over to Channel 4, and in doing so lost its beloved co-hosts Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins and fan-favorite judge, Mary Berry.
This also explains why The Great British Baking Show: The Beginnings and the first four collections of The Great British Baking Show are no longer available to stream on Netflix. Here’s everything we know about that.
Why did the early seasons of The Great British Baking Show leave Netflix?
In 2018 Netflix acquired the U.S. rights to Channel 4’s The Great British Baking Show. That means collections five through nine — and soon to be 10 — are still on the platform. Channel 4 recently renewed its deal with Love Productions, so the format, judges, and hosts should remain the same at least until 2024, according to Variety.
Collections one through 4 and the third season, 2012, of The Great British Baking Show: The Beginnings are a different story. Those seasons are no longer available to stream on Netflix because those seasons were only licenced to the streaming giant, and that licensing is now over. Anyone who wishes to watch those seasons can do so via the PBS Video App, which is available with IOS, Android, Roku, Samsung Smart TV, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, and Chromecast. ‘
The Great British Baking Show‘s spin-off series’ Junior Baking Show and The Great British Baking Show: Holidays are still available to stream on Netflix as they are both part of Channel 4’s programming. The Great British Baking Show collection 10 — or series 13 as it’s known in the U.K. — will premiere on Tuesday Sept. 13 on Channel 4 in the U.K. and Friday, Sept. 16 on Netflix in the U.S.