The Great British Baking Show (a.k.a. The Great British Bake Off on the U.K. side of the pond) became such a popular cooking show that the format spread across the Atlantic to launch The Great American Baking Show. A new NFL-themed episode released in the 2026 TV schedule just in time for the Super Bowl and Ben Affleck's latest Dunkin' ad. Hosts Casey Wilson and Andrew Rannells opened up about how cool under pressure the football greats were on The Great American Baking Show: Celebrity Big Game... and why comedians are the ones most likely to "melt down."
I spoke with former SNL star Casey Wilson and former Elsbeth criminal Andrew Rannells at SCAD TVfest in Atlanta, shortly after the Celebrity Big Game special of The Great American Baking Show released on The Roku Channel. NFL legends Antonio Gates, Von Miller, and Julian Edelman were wearing the aprons along with sports analyst Mina Kimes. I won't spoil the results here since you can stream the special free on The Roku Channel, but I asked the hosts: how well do NFL superstars hold up in the kitchen after performing under a totally different kind of pressure on the field? They shared:
- Andrew Rannells: "I thought they handled it really well."
- Casey Wilson: "I thought they handled it the best because we had a lot of celebrity specials. The comedians especially—"
- Andrew Rannells: "They melt down."
I'd wondered whether the athletes would have a hard time chatting with the two hosts and veteran judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith while baking, since that's certainly not a challenge they faced in any of their Super Bowls. According to Wilson and Rannells, the former football players knew their way around a recipe even if they didn't have home field advantage in the tent. Rannells elaborated:
The athletes, no, they were great. They came to play and they knew how to follow a recipe.
Andrew Rannells previously competed in the Celebrity Summer special of The Great American Baking Show, up against Modern Family's Jesse Tyler Ferguson, black-ish's Yara Shahidi, and Grace and Frankie's June Diane Raphael. The I Don't Understand You improviser then joined Casey Wilson as co-host for Celebrity Holiday, featuring former NBA All-Star Baron Davis, SNL's Cheri Oteri, Splitting Up Together's Oliver Hudson, and award-winning Abbott Elementary star Janelle James.
Suffice it to say that even though the hosts didn't name any names, there are plenty of comedy actors who have appeared on The Great American Baking Show. Casey Wilson and Andrew Rannells went on to explain why comedians make the gig tough for themselves:
- Casey Wilson: "[The NFL players] were competitive, but calm under pressure, whereas the comedian is trying to get their laughs. Next thing you know, they haven't put in the eggs."
- Andrew Rannells: "They're breaking things."
Celebrity episodes of The Great American Baking Show (and of The Great British Baking Show for that matter) are fun for showing off different sides of famous folks, and the Celebrity Big Game episode added an athletic slant. The players who were once competitors in front of tens of thousands of screaming spectators on a football field keep it fairly light under the Baking Show tent, but that doesn't mean it's a stress-free experience... and don't count out analyst Mina Kimes, either! Check out the trailer below, if you haven't watched the special just yet:
You can find The Great American Baking Show: Celebrity Big Game special streaming on The Roku Channel now, as welll as the Celebrity Holiday edition and regular seasons of The Great American Baking Show and Great British Baking Show. Longtime judge Prue Leith announced her exit from the British version of the show earlier this year, so now is a great time see her, Paul Hollywood, and the co-hosts in action.
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