Rat In The Kitchen Season 1: Details We Know So Far

It's been more than a decade since Disney gave us a biographical account of one of the top chefs in animated history — Remy, the rat. Michelin-starred kitchens in "Ratatouille" featured a rat in the kitchen who was as passionate about ingredients as René Redzepi, as wholesome as Julia Child, and possibly as skilled as Gordon Ramsay. Everyone wanted to see Remy succeed by the end of "Ratatouille."

The "rats" we'll meet in the upcoming TBS show "Rat in the Kitchen" aren't anyone we want to be cheering for. The reality show was pitched by Glenn Hugill, the managing director of Possessed TV, in 2020, per Deadline. He described "Rat in the Kitchen" as a cross between "Hell's Kitchen" and "The Masked Singer," two successful TV shows that leave viewers on the edge of their seats. "What if you apply a bit of 'The Masked Singer' logic to cookery? That's how you get to 'Rat in the Kitchen,'" he explained. 

Read on to learn more about what to expect from the show.

Glenn Hugill made a slightly confusing pitch when he said that "Rat in the Kitchen" would be similar to "The Masked Singer," a singing competition where celebrities conceal their identities on stage. However, he cleared up any confusion. "The rat is deliberately trying to screw it up for everyone. They're turning up the heat on the oven, they're leaving the freezer door open, they're swapping the salt for the sugar ... but of course, this is cookery, so people are getting it wrong naturally all of the time. So it's incredibly difficult to work out what was a genuine mistake and what was deliberate sabotage" (via Deadline).

On the show, a mix of professional chefs and home cooks will compete to make dishes that can earn them points and cash if they impress the judges. However, a concealed "rat" in the kitchen will sabotage the process and dishes along the way. Ultimately, it's up to the audience and cooks to determine who the saboteur is. If uncovered, the "rat" loses. But if they successfully dupe everyone, they get to keep all the money earned by the cooks (via TBS). "It's more whodunnit than who is it," a source told Deadline.

As we mentioned, the cast of the show is a mix of professional chefs and passionate home cooks, who will probably be revealed soon. However, we already know the show's host and judge. Natasha Leggero, a hysterical stand-up comics whose iconic roast of Justin Bieber still lives rent-free in our minds, will host "Rat in the Kitchen." She'll be joined by Ludo Lefebvre, a restauranteur and chef who's already judged on shows like "The Taste," "Hell's Kitchen," and "Top Chef," per Deadline.

Thinkfactory CEO Adam Reed told the publication, "As a company with a history and ongoing focus on loud formats, 'Rat [in the Kitchen]' checks all of the boxes for us." Why? "The series blends familiar elements from different beloved unscripted genres to create something wildly unique and fresh, yet simple and straightforward. With Natasha and Ludo at its center and vibrant personalities competing throughout, episodes will have viewers laughing, drooling over enticing dishes and cringing at the chefs' glorious failures — all while obsessing over finding the 'rat.'"

The show was pitched in 2020, and it's finally set for release this year. "Rat in the Kitchen" is a ten-part series that includes a range of creative cooking challenges, enticing cash prizes, audience engagement, and the engineering of a "rat" who drives the plot forward. It's also a unique concept so there's an added pre-production time — which is why it makes sense that it took so long for the show to come to fruition.

According to a TBS trailer, six chefs will complete challenges with one acting as the "rat." The exciting new show will premiere on TBS March 31, 2022, at 9 p.m. We're planning to include it on our weekly watch cycle for the next ten weeks, or until June 2. What's more, we definitely recommend tuning in to solve the mystery. Frankly, we'd advocate checking it out just to watch Natasha Leggero roast the dishes.