If you’re someone who looks forward to Halloween-themed cooking shows as part of your fall tradition — maybe with a pumpkin spice latte in hand and a cozy blanket nearby — then you’re not going to like this. Food Network has pulled the plug on not one, not two, but three of its spooky season staples. Gone are “Outrageous Pumpkins”, “Halloween Cookie Challenge”, and “Last Bite Hotel” — all canceled quietly, all absent from the network’s lineup this October.
Fans are reeling, and for good reason. These weren’t just filler shows — they were core seasonal events for people who like their horror with a side of ganache or their pumpkins with precision-carved fangs. Let’s start with “Outrageous Pumpkins”. This wasn’t some fly-by-night series. It ran for five solid seasons and gave us jaw-dropping artistry in the form of sculpted gourds. Hosted by Damaris Phillips, it gave pumpkin carving a competitive edge — and a $50,000 prize to boot. Now, it’s just… gone.
Then there’s “Halloween Cookie Challenge”, co-hosted by baking star Duff Goldman and YouTube sensation Rosanna Pansino. Premiering in 2022, it only lasted two seasons but had already carved out (no pun intended) a loyal fan base. Cookies shaped like monsters, creepy castles, and haunted forests? Yes, please. The show mixed expert skill with festive fun, and honestly, it deserved more time to rise in the oven.
And “Last Bite Hotel”? That one stings the most for a lot of viewers. Hosted by the ever-charismatic Tituss Burgess, it was one of the more unique concepts Food Network had served up in years. Chefs stuck in a spooky hotel, cooking with a fixed set of 13 ingredients? That’s the kind of creativity fans have been craving — and finally got — only for it to be ripped away after just one season.
Viewers have taken their frustrations to Reddit and social media, and let’s just say, it’s not just minor grumbling. One fan wrote, “IN THE CURRENT DESPERATE TIMES WE NEED OUR FLIPPING HAPPY PLACE HOLIDAY SHOWS!!” Another pointed out that “Last Bite Hotel” was “one of the few original ideas the network has had recently,” and frankly, they’re not wrong. The show didn’t just offer Halloween vibes — it brought a unique format and zero-waste cooking, something pretty rare in competition TV.
People aren’t just upset because their favorite show is gone. They’re feeling the larger trend — Food Network scaling back across the board. One user said it bluntly: “They used to have an abundance of holiday-themed shows, many that only lasted a year or two, and now they are even dropping the regulars like “Holiday Wars”.” This isn’t just a one-off — it feels like a complete seasonal reset, and not in a good way.
And don’t think this is just a Food Network issue. Warner Bros. Discovery, which owns Food Network, is also behind HGTV — and that channel’s been cleaning house, too. Fans of “Bargain Block”, “Married to Real Estate”, “Battle on the Beach”, and “Christina on the Coast” have also seen their shows axed recently. Whether it’s a budget issue or a strategy shift, viewers are being left out in the cold.
People form traditions around these shows. They light fall candles, whip up themed snacks, and sit down with family or friends to catch the latest pumpkin battle or haunted bake-off. These programs weren’t just entertainment — they were part of the seasonal rhythm. To drop them with no explanation is, as one fan put it, “humiliating.”
Food Network hasn’t commented publicly on the cancellations yet, and that radio silence isn’t helping. People want answers. Why kill off three shows at once? Why remove the one time of year where Food Network gets to lean all the way into weird, whimsical, and wildly creative programming?
So here we are. A spooky season with fewer pumpkins, fewer cookies, and a lot more confusion. Halloween is about chills and thrills, sure — but no one wanted a ghosting like this. If this is the new direction for Food Network, fans are going to need more than candy to get through it. They’ll need a programming miracle — or at least a rerun of “Outrageous Pumpkins”.
