The Great American Baking Show Season 4: Set Visit

In the summer of 2025, I traveled to London, England, chasing a baking competition that, despite its calming scenery, operates with the precision and scale of a blockbuster film.

Just outside Windsor, I headed to the legendary Pinewood Studios, home to Harry Potter, James Bond, and now The Great American Baking Show.

The Great American Baking Show will be entering its fourth season in May. You’re probably more familiar with The Great British Bake Off. American Baking Show is a spinoff of the iconic competition series, bringing American contestants to the iconic tent to whip up desserts for the judges to try.

A bright‑and‑early wake‑up for the set visit meant I arrived just as the morning mist lifted off the ponds and fields surrounding the iconic Bake Off tent.

And yes… the tent is real. Not a soundstage. Not a façade. A genuine tent pitched in a field surrounded by trees, bridges, and water. Upon arrival, I was greeted with tea and freshly baked pastries, an appropriately on‑brand welcome. I waited behind the tent in a holding area bustling with behind‑the‑scenes staff. There I saw dozens of employees washing, drying, and resetting every piece of bakeware the contestants used in real time.

Before stepping foot inside the tent, I had two interviews: one with the judges, Dame Prue Leith and Paul Hollywood, and one with the hosts, Casey Wilson and Andrew Rannells.

Paul Hollywood, with his signature stare and decades of baking expertise, has become synonymous with the Bake Off brand. Prue Leith, meanwhile, is culinary royalty: an acclaimed restaurateur, author, and television icon. As of January 2026, she announced she would be leaving The Great British Bake Off, calling it “the right time to step back” after judging more than 400 challenges inside the tent. Something about Leith and Hollywood is that they have incredible banter. In every confessional and judging segment you see in the series, their dynamic is always witty and upbeat.

While Hollywood and Leith are judging the contests on The Great American Baking Show, actors Casey Wilson and Andrew Rannells serve as co-hosts (and comedic relief as well). Wilson, known for Happy Endings and SNL, joins Rannells, Broadway star of The Book of Mormon and a recent contestant on The Great American Baking Show: Celebrity Summer, which aired back in August 2025.

Photo with Andrew Rannells and Casey Wilson, co-hosts for the fourth season of The Great American Baking Show on Roku.

Rannells didn’t win his season, but he did win over production, eventually joining as co‑host for the holiday special and now the main series. He succeeds Zach Cherry, who is most known for his role as Dylan George in Apple TV+’s Severance.

My conversation with the co-hosts included a game of determining which of their past roles would bake a “fresh” dessert and which would produce something, well, rotten.

It’s important to note that the Bake Off universe is MASSIVE. The franchise has expanded across streaming platforms. While the Roku Channel is putting on the fourth season of The Great American Baking Show, it has also produced/greenlit additional seasons of Celebrity Holiday Special, Big Game, Celebrity Summer, and two new spinoffs, including Juniors. All of this stems from the original Great British Bake Off, now over 15 years strong on BBC.

Stepping into the tent felt like entering a full-scale baking arena. Eight baking stations lined the tent, each with its own fridge, oven, and bright decor. The tent is converted and rebuilt each season, a process that takes time and precision. Springtime releases mean the tent is often surrounded by blooming flowers and lush greenery.

For each episode of The Great American Baking Show, 90 hours of footage is compiled, but only 60 minutes make it to air. It can take up to a week to film a single episode, and usually contestants have two days off in between filming episodes.

Contestants spend two months preparing their Signature and Showstopper recipes before filming even begins. Only the culinary team is allowed to touch the fridges and cakes during beauty shots (these are the segments of the show where you see a dazzling dessert spinning atop a counter while a contestant describes it to a judge). They ensure every bit of the creation looks perfect on camera.

You can watch the brand new season of The Great American Baking Show for free on The Roku Channel starting May 11, 2026.