The next season of Chef, announced at Ten’s 2022 Upfronts today, will see 12 return Chef stars competing alongside a dozen beginners.

“We know people love to see their favorite food, but they also want to have their cake and eat it, and they want to see new people. I think that adds a new element to the show, ”Beverley McGarvey, director of content and executive vice president of ViacomCBS Australia and New Zealand, told news.com.au.

Ms McGarvey said she was particularly thrilled to see Goodwin return to the series, 13 years after beating Poh Ying Leow to become the first Australian Chef in 2009.

So what are the other highlights announced for Ten’s 2022 schedule?

Return Favorites

Australian survivor will come back for a Blood against water season – expect to see a handful of familiar faces, playing alongside family members.

“I think that dynamic is interesting – you’re very honest about who you are with people you know very well,” Ms. McGarvey said.

I am a celebrity kicks off the year on January 3 with reality TV favorites The Bachelor, The Bachelorette, The Masked Singer and Fantastic race all on the program for 2022.

Ten poachers a show of seven

A surprise in the program: First Meetings Australia, who drew a cult following for four seasons on Channel 7, was nabbed by Ten.

Ms McGarvey admitted that she has had her eye on the program for some time.

“Absolutely. They’re genuine Australians doing what everyone else does – everyone’s had a first date. He’s a very particular type of candidate who goes on big reality shows – and that’s fantastic – but it’s different from that. It has always been of great interest to us. “

It is the latest in a series of shows to switch between networks in recent years, among which The voice – which went from Nine to Seven – and Dancing with the stars, who recently returned to Seven after two seasons at 10. Ms McGarvey said it was an interesting time for the local television industry.

“It keeps us more on our toes – that was something that didn’t really happen here, because it was really hard for the shows to get the networks moving. But it happens a bit more often, and you can modify a show to suit your [network’s] style.”

New Extreme Reality TV Shows

An Australian version of the “infamous” reality show hunt will air on Ten next year – a cat-and-mouse game that pits a team of hunters against each other in an urban environment.

Ms McGarvey called the concept “really different. We have a hunting team and a hunting team – and they each have their own production team, which does not overlap. No one is warned by the team on the other side. It’s an urban street game – I hesitate to call it that, but it’s a bit Survivor in the city. You have to have special survival skills – you have to be a special type of person to want to play it. “

Another top tier offering, this one is coming to Paramount Plus: The bridge, which will see 12 competitors abandoned in the Tasmanian wilderness and tasked with building a 300m bridge in just 12 days.

Ten will also air an Australian iteration of the popular British comedy show. Would I lie to you ?, while Paramount Plus will broadcast an Australian version of Couple therapy, a breathtaking spectacle that takes place in the office of a professional relations therapist.

Two shows don’t come back

Two shows that are not on the 2022 program: do it, Ten’s recent craft competition which was pushed back to Saturday night after debuting with low marks, and Hughesy, we have a problem, which had been on the air since 2018 but suffered low ratings in its fifth season in 2021.