Media Boat Thoughts: Pressure Cooker

Take ½ cup of Big Brother, a pound of Hell's Kitchen, separate the celebrity chef and host elements, then whisk together to fill out an 8 episode order. That's what Pressure Cooker boils down to on Netflix. It’s a quick fix cooking competition where the winner is decided amongst the contestant chefs and not chosen by any outside judges. They cook, taste, and vote on each others’ dishes. 

Since there’s no host for this competition, the games and votes are done via a POS system and ticket printer, just like you would hear in an actual restaurant kitchen. This is probably the smartest move the producers could have made, since it keeps the focus on the chefs and incorporates a real-life kitchen tool instead of making up a new device specifically for the show (see Lana of Too Hot to Handle fame). It adds to the faux realism that reminds you this is still a reality competition. 

However, that's about where the fresh ideas end; the rest of the series becomes pretty one-note. You get your typical secret ingredient episodes, and a side of alliances made only to be broken later. The fact that it's only 8 episodes actually makes the show easier to stomach, as the basic food competition formula does get stale after a while. It'll give you a quick fix, but Pressure Cooker is not substantial enough to warrant a return visit.