Chopped Castaways is one of the newest cooking competition shows on the 2026 TV schedule, and even as a lifelong fan of the flagship series, I was leery of it. The commercials looked like I was watching Chopped meets Survivor, and not in a way I thought I'd enjoy.
Fortunately, I was wrong, and I can assure anyone looking to check it out on Food Network or with an HBO Max subscription that this spinoff is worthy of the Chopped label. Here's what stuck out to me, as someone who had several worries going in that were quickly extinguished.
The Show Has Survivor Elements, But Is Still Very Much Chopped
The commercials for Chopped Castaways look like something out of Survivor Season 50, with contestants running around and competing in challenges. Thus far, there are no cameos from Jeff Probst (or Mr. Beast) on the spinoff, and the premiere was way more cooking-forward than the commercials made it seem.
Honestly, once I saw that longtime judge Maneet Chauhan was on the panel, I knew food was still center-stage in this competition. Sure, the contestants start out in teams and are singled out for elimination challenges, but everything from the time component to the expectation of high-quality meals is still here. Of course, the baskets are a little more themed, but I'm completely fine with there being some of that, given otherwise it'd just be Chopped on an island. All this to say, I'm happy that making fire was a challenge, but that there wasn't a fire-making challenge.
All Contestants Have Open Fire Cooking Or Wildlife Experience
The second thing I was most worried about when I was watching was if the chefs would be proficient at cooking outdoors or with open flame, or if this would devolve into a Food Network equivalent of Netflix's Nailed It!. Fortunately, that's not a worry, as Chopped Castaways did a great job at scouting out people who could deliver high-quality meals and be in their element.
All this to say, a quick look at Food Network's cast list shows that many of these competitors have appeared on or even been judges in other food competition programs. I think this spinoff can thrive, though it requires a very specific type of individual.
Finding people who have basic survival skills and also create restaurant-quality meals in the wild is a very specific skillset. Not a lot of people can do this show, and I wonder if, long-term, that impacts the ability for Chopped Castaways to have many seasons. I'm choosing not to worry too much about that for now, and preferring just to enjoy the ride as long as it lasts.
Catch Chopped Castaways on Food Network Tuesdays at 9:00 p.m. ET, with episodes coming out the next day on HBO Max. Tune into the eight-episode series to see who wins the $100,000, and see if this ends up coming back for another season.
