Worst Cooks in America: Anne Burrell is out, these reality TV heroes and villains are in

Food Network announced a brand-new season of Worst Cooks In America, which will have a “celebrity” cast, i.e. reality TV stars, and a 2010 Survivor subtitle, Heroes vs. Villains.

It will not, however, have Anne Burrell, the chef who has been at the helm for all 27 seasons of Worst Cooks since its debut in 2010.

While more than a dozen Food Network personalities have mentored the blue team—including Bobby Flay, Carla Hall, Tyler Florence, and, most recently, Tiffanny Derry—Anne has always led the red team. What even is Worst Cooks in America without Anne Burrell saying “recruits” and being exasperated?

In 2021, the announcement for Worst Cooks season 23 quoted then-Food Network president Courtney White, who said:

“Anne has been an integral part of the success of Worst Cooks from the very beginning. She is an exceptional talent—in the kitchen and onscreen—and we are thrilled to continue working together.”

At the time, Anne “signed an exclusive multi-year deal inclusive of at least two more cycles of the popular series she has headlined since it began.” Those were seasons 23 and 24; three more seasons have aired since.

Tiffany Derry and Anne Burrell were the Worst Cooks of America season 27 mentors (Photo by Food Network)

For the Worst Cooks in America season 28, the mentors will be Jeff Mauro, identified as a “returning mentor” since he’s previously co-hosted with Anne, and Top Chef turned Food Network star Antonia Lofaso.

The recruits/cast of Worst Cooks in America Celebrity Edition: Heroes vs. Villains are competing for $25,000, and, according to Food Network, are people who have “survived the cutthroat world of reality television where they earned their reputations as heroes or villains, and now they will find out if they have what it takes to succeed in culinary boot camp.”

Celebrity seasons of Worst Cooks are generally shorter, with six or seven episodes, and fewer than 10 cast members.

This season will be even shorter—just five episodes, airing between Jan. 5 and Feb. 2, 2025—but have 10 cast members and a two-hour premiere.

The Worst Cooks in America heroes and villains

Worst Cooks in America Celebrity Edition: Heroes vs. Villains cast members Trinity the Tuck, Adam Rippon, Sebastian Bach, Frankie Grande and Cheryl Burke, Corinne Olympios, Rachel Reilly, Bartise Bowden, Tiffany Pollard and Wes Bergmann, with hosts Antonia Lofaso and Jeff Mauro in the center (Photo by Food Network)

The reality TV stars will face challenge including, Food Network says, “a royal food inspired Games of Scones,” a “Reality Roast face-off inspired by iconic reality tv shows,” and an “intergalactic food scavenger hunt May the Course Be With You.”

Warner Bros. Discovery executive Betsy Ayala said that the “recruits all have reputations that precede them” and “Jeff and Antonia have their work cut out for them to mentor these stars.”

Clearly, the casting department also had their work cut out for them trying to cast this season, because the heroes list is especially weak. Frankie Grande is a hero?! Please.

Heroes:

• Sebastian Bach, Celebrity Fit Club and The Masked Singer
• Cheryl Burke, Dancing with the Stars
• Frankie Grande, Big Brother
• Adam Rippon, Dancing with the Stars and Stars on Mars
• Trinity the Tuck, RuPaul’s Drag Race

Villains:

• Wes Bergmann, The Challenge
• Bartise Bowden, Love Is Blind and Perfect Match
• Corinne Olympios, The Bachelor
• Tiffany “New York” Pollard, I Love New York and Flavor of Love
• Rachel Reilly, Big Brother and The Amazing Race