Skip to main content

PILOT REVIEW: The Baker and the Beauty

THE BAKER AND THE BEAUTY












Starring: Victor Rasuk, Nathalie Kelley, Dan Bucatinsky, David Del Rio, Michelle Veintimilla, Belissa Escobedo, with Lisa Vidal and Carlos Gomez

Developed for American Television by Dean Georgaris
Based on the Israeli Television Series "Beauty and the Baker" by Assi Azar
Telelplay by Dean Georgaris, Directed by David Frankel

Last year was the first time I read some of the pilots before Upfronts. I had plans to read all of them but only made it through ABC and a few NBC ones. There were a lot of ABC ones that I was interested in and go figure they picked up almost none of them. But one of the ones I actually really liked, much to my surprise, was The Baker and the Beauty. It's been about a year since I read the pilot but a lot of it stuck with me watching the pilot tonight and I am happy to report that the final product was as charming as the script.

The Baker and the Beauty is based on an Israeli series but centered on a Hispanic family with a bakery in Miami. Daniel Garcia (Victor Rasuk) is stuck in a rut in a four year relationship with girlfriend Vanessa (Michelle Veintimilla). She proposes to him at a restaurant where he has a chance encounter with international superstar Noa Hamilton (Nathalie Kelley) and all of the sudden a humble family bakery and the family that runs it are caught up in it all.

Sure, the plot of the pilot is a little outrageous. But for some reason, it was all played as plausible and had a very healthy dose of sweetness to it. The leads, Victor Rasuk and Nathalie Kelley, are both likable and also have nice chemistry with each other. Though their characters come from very different worlds, there was an inherent spark from the minute they met and that went a long way to make a preposterous plot feel more real. The show needs to do the same with the rest of the family, which did not play as real all the time as the central love story and I have a feeling this show will be an awfully lot about the family as well.

The Miami setting was perfect for a modern day fairy tale story like this. Even if some of the production values were questionable (the whole defiling the poster was very clearly done on a green screen, not that it shouldn't have been), it still was a well-made pilot. I also was curious to see how much a pilot I actually was into (as opposed to For Life) played when I got to see the finished product. I don't think it diminished my enjoyment, if anything it made me more excited. Now to get back to those 2020 pilot readings.

WILL I WATCH IT AGAIN?
Yes, I'm curious to see where this show goes.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

EPISODE GUIDES: That 70s Show Season Seven

On Thursdays, I go through classic series with a critical look at each season. Today I am looking at Season Seven of  That 70s Show ! THAT 70s SHOW: SEASON SEVEN 2004-2005 25 episodes The seventh season of  That 70s Show  is the final season with Topher Grace as a series regular and also the final full season for Ashton Kutcher. Despite still having both of those cast member, the show finds itself flailing especially with Topher Grace's Eric, who is stuck in a terrible arc for most of the season. The show also brings many characters back at one point or another but everything just feels tired. This season actually graded out the worst for me. Even worse than the often maligned final season (more on that next week). Every title this season is named for a Rolling Stones song. Starring Topher Grace as Eric Forman  (25 episodes) Mila Kunis as Jackie Burkhart  (25 episodes) Ashton Kutcher as Michael Kelso  (25 episodes) Danny Masterson as Steven Hyde  (25 e...

EPISODE GUIDES: Rhoda Season Five

On Thursdays, I go through classic series with a critical look at each season. Today I am looking at Season Five (the final season) of  Rhoda ! RHODA: SEASON FIVE 1978 13 episodes Rhoda' s final season was a truncated one as the show was cancelled in December 1978 after only 13 episodes had been produced (and only nine had aired). This feels like a continuation from season four in many ways except with the ill-advised split between Ida and Martin (more on that below). While  Rhoda  has an occasional good moment and even a couple decent episodes, it is a show that seems so wildly different from season one and not in a good way.  Rhoda  could never figure out what it fully wanted to be and only made it four and a half seasons as a result. Starring Valerie Harper as Rhoda Morgenstern  (13 episodes) Julie Kavner as Brenda Morgenstern  (13 episodes) Ray Buktenica as Benny Goodwin  (11 episodes) Kenneth McMillan as Jack Doyle  (9 episodes) Nancy Wa...

SCHEDULES OF THE PAST: 1995-1996 Thursdays

On Tuesdays, I take a look at schedules from yesteryear. Here's a look at Thursdays in the 1995-96 season! ABC 8:00 8:30 9:00 10:00 Sep Charlie Grace The Monroes Various Programs Oct Murder One Nov Various Programs Dec Various Programs Thursday Night Movie Jan Feb World’s Funniest Videos Before They Were Stars! Mar Apr May NBC was the powerhouse on Thursday nights but ABC still gave it the old college try in the Fall of 1995 with a trio of new dramas that they hoped would help them cut into the Peacock's dominance. Headlining their night was Murder One , a high profile new show from Steven Bochco that received much of the network's attention before the season started. The series focused on one murder case for an entire season, whi...