Halloween Wars
Halloween Wars is an American reality competition series from Super Delicious, the production company that also produces Cupcake Wars and Cake Wars. It premiered on October 2, 2011, on Food Network and it runs over the course of four weeks in October annually. The show pits five teams made up of cake sculptors, sugar artists, and pumpkin carvers against each other to produce the ultimate Halloween themed display. The winning team is awarded $50,000.[1]
Halloween Wars | |
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Genre | Reality television Cooking show |
Presented by |
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Judges |
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Country of origin | United States |
Original language(s) | English |
No. of seasons | 9 |
No. of episodes | 40 (list of episodes) |
Release | |
Original network | Food Network |
Original release | October 2, 2011 – present |
External links | |
Website |
The series was hosted by Justin Willman (seasons 1–4), Rossi Morreale (season 5),[2] and is currently hosted by Jonathan Bennett.[3]
Rounds
Each episode has two rounds. The first round is the "Small Scare" where the teams of trios get 45 minutes to create their interpretation of a spooky theme (ex: "possessed electronics" or "zombie dolls"). The winners of the first round get an extra assistant for the second round (starting in season three, winners of the final episode "Small Scare" round get first pick of the pumpkins).
The second round is the "Spine Chiller" where the teams get five hours to create a large-scale, immersive sculpture based on a new theme. They must also serve a tasting element that usually have something to do with the theme. The themes for the second round relate to the title of each episode (like in "Zombies vs Vampires" where the teams had to create a scene depicting a zombie battling a vampire using cake, candy, and pumpkin).
Judges
There are three judges in the series, with two of them serving as permanent judges. Throughout the series award-winning cake artist Shinmin Li served as permanent judge. Hollywood conceptual artist Miles Teves was the second judge in season 1. Actor and award-winning special effects artist Tom Savini was the second judge in season 2.[4] Emmy-nominated SFX make-up artist Brian Kinney was the second judge in seasons 3–5.[5] Writer/director of Child's Play, Don Mancini joined Shinmin in season 6. Director and effects artist Todd Tucker was the male judge in seasons 7–8.
In addition to the two regular judges, each episode has a third special guest judge that is involved in horror, whether as an actor, a writer, etc.
Episodes
Season | Season Premiere Date | Season Finale Date | No. of Teams | Judge 1 | Judge 2 |
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1 | October 2, 2011 | October 23, 2011 | 5 | Shinmin Li | Miles Teves |
2 | October 7, 2012 | October 28, 2012 | 5 | Tom Savini | |
3 | October 6, 2013 | October 27, 2013 | 5 | Brian Kinney | |
4 | October 5, 2014 | October 26, 2014 | 5 | ||
5 | October 4, 2015 | October 25, 2015 | 5 | ||
6 | October 2, 2016 | October 30, 2016 | 6 | Don Mancini | |
7 | October 1, 2017 | October 29, 2017 | 6 | Todd Tucker | |
8 | September 30, 2018 | October 28, 2018 | 6 | ||
9 | September 29, 2019 | October 27, 2019 | 6 |
References
- "Food Network Haunts October With New Series 'Halloween Wars'". TV by the Numbers. 8 September 2011.
- "Food Network's Halloween Wars Is Back In An All New Frightfully Spooky Season - The Business Journals".
- BWW News Desk. "Jonathan Bennett to Host New Season of Food Network's HALLOWEEN WARS, Premiering 10/2". BroadwayWorld.
- "Tom Savini To Judge Food Network's Halloween Wars".
- "Halloween Wars Scares Up Spine-tingling Pumpkin Displays in Return to Food Network". Food Network – via PR Newswire.