Shut it down! That's what Gordon Ramsay is doing with his popular unscripted series Kitchen Nightmares, both in the U.S. and the U.K. Does this mean that he's cleaned up all of the struggling restaurants on both sides of the pond? Not likely. From the sound of it, Ramsay has simply decided to stop making the show.
Variety posted the news, citing an update on Gordon Ramsay's website, which announces Ramsay's decision to pull the plug on the show, and offers an update on the status of the UK series' remaining episodes...
I'm currently filming 4 new episodes, Costa Del Nightmares, for Channel 4 which will be my last. I've had a phenomenal 10 years making 123 episodes, 12 seasons, shot across 2 continents, watched by tens of millions of people and sold to over 150 countries. It’s been a blast but it's time to call it a day.
Kitchen Nightmares stars celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay, who visits a different restaurant in each episode and helps them figure out why it's struggling or failing. Oftentimes, poor management plays its part. Whatever the case may be -- whether it's a bad or dated menu, poor decor, a frustrated staff, kitchen problems -- Ramsay uses his restaurant expertise and candid method of doling out advice to help the restaurant reboot itself and hopefully overcome its problems.
The original series, Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares debuted in the U.K. on Channel 4 in 2004 and has aired for 32 episodes (24 fix-up shows, 8 revisits). The series, which aired stateside on BBC America, was later adapted for the U.S. to air on Fox in 2007, with Ramsay once again starring. Except instead of U.K. eateries, the restaurants featured were in the U.S.. The production seemed to favor the East Coast, with quite a few episodes showcasing New York restaurants, however Fox's Kitchen Nightmares traveled to other parts of the country as well, including California, Louisiana and Michigan.
While Gordon Ramsay may be calling it quits on fixing up restaurants for Kitchen Nightmares, he still has a pretty strong presence at Fox, between Masterchef, Hell's Kitchen, Hotel Hell, and Masterchef Jr..
In the meantime, in addition to his announcement, Ramsay shared a list of facts about Kitchen Nightmares from over the years, including that there've been 123 restaurants in 99 cities within 2 countries visited and the episodes have sold in 150 territories globally. The swear count totals 10,197 -- all for Ramsay? That's not specified, but l mean, probably most of them, right? Ahem...
Kitchen Nightmares has also apparently featured .4 gallons of tears, 27 meltdowns, 1 walkout, 1 mice and 6 meows.
