Courtney White: Celebs Rumors

Valerie Bertinelli was let go from Kids Baking Championship on Food Network after co-hosting and judging on the series since 2015.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Valerie Bertinelli‘s departure from “Kids Baking Championship” is not a cut-and-dry case of Food Network firing the “One Day at a Time” alum from her role as co-host and judge of the show. Rather, it’s the aftermath of the Warner Bros. Discovery-owned channel deciding not to renew Bertinelli’s larger exclusive deal with the network when it ended in 2022, sources tell Variety. Bertinelli signed a multi-series deal with Food Network in 2018, which expired in 2021.

EXCLUSIVE: Roku has ordered a celebrity cooking show exec produced by Sofia Vergara and hosted by her son Manolo Gonzalez Vergara.

Anna “Delvey” Sorokin, the fake heiress who was the subject of Netflix’s Inventing Anna, is to host a celebrity dinner club series.

EXCLUSIVE: Nancy Daniels, who oversees the Turner networks and a number of Discovery channels, and Jane Latman, the HGTV veteran who is also in charge of Food Network, are the latest execs out at Warner Bros. Discovery.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterJimmy Kimmel and Brent Montgomery’s media company Wheelhouse has taken a stake in former Food Network president Courtney White’s new food and lifestyle-focused production company Butternut Films, which will now be renamed Butternut under the joint venture.As president of Butternut, which was launched when White exited Food Network this spring, White will collaborate with Wheelhouse leadership and across all Wheelhouse divisions — including Wheelhouse Entertainment, marketing arm Wheelhouse Labs, digital division Wheelhouse DNA, and investment department Wheelhouse 360 — “leveraging her deep production and creative expertise in culinary, home, design and lifestyle programming, and her wide-ranging relationships with talent and brands,” per Wheelhouse. Butternut is focused on creating original content for all platforms, “working with a range of established, emerging and home-grown talent.”White and her Butternut team will continue to work out of a clapboard barn on her family’s Southport, Conn., fresh-cut flower farm, Butternut Farm, as well as Wheelhouse’s New York and Los Angeles headquarters, and have full access to Wheelhouse’s large-scale campus in Stamford, Conn., dubbed “The Village.”The Wheelhouse-Butternut joint venture was brokered by Wheelhouse chief strategy officer Ed Simpson.“The single, common element across all successful lifestyle content is passion — talent must project it, creators must harness it, audiences must feel it,” White said.

Courtney White, the former president of Food Network, is partnering with Wheelhouse and CEO Brent Montgomery to create food, home and lifestyle content under the new Butternut hub.

The new season of Food Network’s “BBQ Brawl,” kicks off Monday, May 9 with a special 90-minute episode, TheWrap can reveal.Over eight episodes, chefs Flay, Anne Burrell, and Jet Tila will mentor nine upcoming stars in the barbecue world with culinary battles that test their skills and their ability to work together as a team. A panel of judges featuring barbecue legend Rodney Scott, famed chef Brooke Williamson, and lifestyle personality Carson Kressley decide which competitor is worthy of being crowned “Master of ‘Cue” and appear across Food Network’s digital platforms to become its official BBQ expert for the year.The competition takes place at the famed Star Hill Ranch in Austin, Texas.“This year’s intense barbecue challenges, breakout BBQ hopefuls, and top-flight Food Network chefs that put their reputations on the line has BBQ Brawl promising to again strike a chord with viewers this season,” Courtney White, president of Food Network and Streaming Food Content at Discovery Inc., said in a statement. “With Anne Burrell and Jet Tila challenging Bobby with their competitive DNA and deep culinary experience, the excitement this season runs hotter than ever.”This season, the newest batch of contenders will arrive at the ranch in the premiere episode and introduce themselves to the captains by making a flavorful signature skewer.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterAlmost two decades after her death, Julia Child is back in the media spotlight, the subject of a trio of projects.The Sony Pictures Classics documentary “Julia,” from the “RBG” team of Julie Cohen and Betsy West, was first out of the gate when it debuted on the fest circuit in September, followed March 16 by “The Julia Child Challenge” cooking competition on Food Network. The HBO Max scripted series “Julia” will arrive later this month, with Sarah Lancashire portraying the iconic chef.In the reality show, eight self-proclaimed disciples of Child vie for the chance to win an all-expenses-paid, three-month cooking course at Le Cordon Bleu, where she studied in 1950, by whipping up their own spins on her iconic dishes.

HGTV veteran Jane Latman will be taking the helm of Food Network, expanding her responsibilities as President, HGTV and Streaming Home Content. The move comes as current Food Network President Courtney White departs to launch a new production company, Butternut Films, and as parent company Discovery prepares for the merger with WarnerMedia, which is expected to close in April. Latman begins her expanded role on April 30, and will continue to report to Kathleen Finch, Chief Lifestyle Brands Officer, Discovery, Inc.

HGTV veteran Jane Latman will be taking the helm of Food Network, expanding her responsibilities as President, HGTV and Streaming Home Content. The move comes as current Food Network President Courtney White departs to launch a new production company, Butternut Films, and as parent company Discovery prepares for the merger with WarnerMedia, which is expected to close in April. Latman begins her expanded role on April 30, and will continue to report to Kathleen Finch, Chief Lifestyle Brands Officer, Discovery, Inc.

Cynthia Littleton Business EditorDiscovery’s cable powerhouses Food Network and HGTV are undergoing a management shuffle as the company prepares to merge with WarnerMedia in a deal that is expected to close in April.HGTV veteran Jane Latman is taking over management of Food Network in addition to the home-focused lifestyle cabler. Courtney White is exiting her post as president of Food Network to launch a new content banner, Butternut Films.“Jane has more than proven her leadership skills at HGTV where, so far this year, she leads the industry in launching six of the top 20 freshman hits among ages 25-54 — more than any other cable network,” Kathleen Finch, chief lifestyle brands officer of Discovery, said in a statement.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterBon appetit! A cooking competition inspired by culinary legend Julia Child and featuring her “superfans” as contestants has been ordered at Food Network and Discovery Plus, Variety has learned exclusively.Based on the legacy of Child, who motivated generations of home cooks with her talent, enthusiasm and humor, “The Julia Child Challenge” will see eight top-notch home cooks compete in high-stakes culinary challenges to find out who has the fire, skill and passion to win the first-ever primetime competition series dedicated to all things Julia, per the show’s official description. The competitors, all Julia Child superfans, share personal stories about their hero, cook in a kitchen recreated in the likeness of where Julia herself cooked, using the same ingredients Julia used and are even guided by Julia herself through a larger-than-life television screen right in the middle of all the action.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorRhett McLaughlin and Link Neal, who have zigged and zagged their way through careers in digital content, comedy and books over the past several years, are now ready to try their hands at food journalism.The hosts of the daily web-based comedy show “Good Mythical Morning,” are set to debut “The Taste Buds with Rhett & Link,” a new Food Network series that will have the duo explore some of America’s favorite food brands and meet the people behind their production. Food Network recently wrapped production on the series, which is slated to debut later this year on both Food Network and Discovery Plus, the streaming hub owned by the network’s parent, Discovery.“Rhett & Link have captivated audiences for years with their humor, insatiable curiosity and commitment to answering life’s burning questions like ‘what’s the best pickle-flavored snack?’ and ‘where in the world did this bacon dish come from?’,’’ said Courtney White, president of Food Network and streaming food content for Discovery, in a statement.

EXCLUSIVE: Guy Fieri is cooking up another chapter of Tournament of Champions as Food Network renews the competition series for Season 3.

Weeks after it appeared he would be leaving the Food Network after 27 years, Bobby Flay has reached a three-year, exclusive deal with the Discovery outlet.

.“Kardea quickly became a rising star when she joined Food Network in 2019,” Courtney White, president of Food Network and streaming food content at Discovery Inc, told TheWrap. “Her food and storytelling really resonate with our audience and we look forward to delivering more of her unique culinary voice in the future.”Brown added: “I’m so excited to continue this journey with Discovery Inc.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor“Chopped,” that Food Network perennial, is getting a few new ingredients.When the Discovery-owned outlet launches two new versions of the long-running series on streaming-video hub Discovery Plus, it will do with an aim to win younger audiences to its cause. “Chopped 420” gives four chefs the chance to incorporate cannabis or cannabis-infused ingredients into their recipes while “Chopped Next Gen” focuses on younger chefs.

An English teacher in Texas has gone viral because she doesn’t give her students any homework. Courtney White, from Alvarado, Texas, posted a video on TikTok mentioning her homework policy.  In the video, White is holding her hand out as if for a handshake with the words, “You must be that teacher that doesn’t assign homework,” written over.

Kristin Chenoweth has been set as the host of the upcoming Food Network competition series Candy Land, which is based on the Hasbro children’s game of the same name.

Kate Aurthur editorIn June, two perennial Food Network shows, Guy Fieri’s “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” and Robert Irvine’s “Restaurant: Impossible,” went back into production. It was the first time either show shot on location since the coronavirus pandemic brought all television and film production to a dramatic halt in mid-March.

Gaining confidence in the kitchen! On her new show, Amy Schumer Learns to Cook, Amy Schumer teams up with her husband, Chris Fischer, to prepare various meals, drinks and snacks while in quarantine amid the coronavirus pandemic. The program is filmed in their home, with their nanny, Jane, holding the camera.

By Peter White

Amy Schumer and her chef husband Chris Fischer have landed their own cooking show.

By Brian Steinberg

By Peter White

Before Guy Fieri ever wrapped his mouth around the smoked-wing nachos or Nashville hot fried chicken he regularly nibbles on TV, he had to navigate the twists of the pretzel business.