Channel 4 applies the Great British Bake Off format to Britain’s mundane obsession: lawn care. In a casting coup, they signed Snoop Dogg, a man famous for his connection to grass.
Launching Sunday at 8pm on linear TV (and weekly on OD), the show mirrors GBBO and its many clones. A show about turf might sound skippable, but with Snoop as host, it may be a classic.
Featuring ten contestants, the usual mix of home gardening obsessives and semi-pro groundskeepers go through elimination rounds focused on turf that is set to put their skills and emotions to the test, in which “the proof is in the mowing”.
Joined each week by an array of celebrity gardeners in what is going to be the ultimate odd couple presenting team, as rounds get more intense, so does the judging, with cut height, density, recovery, levelling, durability and diagnosis all being looked at in meticulous detail. Leading to the usual weekly elimination in which they either “Cut it or get cut”.
Based on the previews and releases from the C4 press office, rounds will include fixing dead domestic lawns, public park durability tests, sports turf striping, and a run that takes us to Wimbledon Centre Court and the inevitable Chelsea Flower Show finale.
And Snoop’s role looks to be handled with more restraint than you might fear, and rather than an eight-week weed joke, he seems to have a genuine interest in gardening now he is in his dotage. He is very much asking the obvious questions and bringing some sparkle to the screen as he leaves the scoring to the specialists.
Can’t quite work out if this is one of those new-fangled commercial co-productions, as all the tools, soil, seed, feed, kit, and even a couple of the scenes seem to suggest a partnership with B&Q, which would make sense.
The one weak point is the research, which claims “46% admit they judge neighbours by the state of their grass” and “1 in 6 spend more than £317 a year on grass upkeep.” With Snoop hosting, this just isn’t needed; the show’s premise is strong enough without it.
Regardless, C4 have done it again. rejuvenating the GBBO format into something mundane on the surface and turning it into something we are all sticking on a series link.
For more info on the show, or to watch the trailer, check out here.
