America loves shows about food, and America apparently also loves watching people get yelled at, so put them together and what do you get? Gordon Ramsey’s MasterChef! It’s no wonder the show keeps coming back, year after year to deliver on both of those fronts. All kidding aside, it is a very popular show now in its eighth season, which has its finale on Wednesday. Fans will finally get to see if Dino, Eboni, or Jason can bring home the bacon, so to speak, and win MasterChef Season 8. But if you’re a big fan, you’re probably excited and wondering what comes next, so when is MasterChef Season 9 going to air?
Since its inception, MasterChef has been a summer show, typically premiering in the summer and ending in the fall (just like Season 8 is doing now). In terms of filming, Season 8 was given the green light in the winter of 2017, and since MasterChef hasn’t yet been renewed for Season 9, one can assume that notice of renewal will come in the cold winter months and the show will premiere around Memorial Day Weekend of 2018. Honestly, I can’t imagine it gets canceled — it’s so fun to watch, and who doesn’t want to imagine getting to eat all of that delicious food the contestants make? For what it's worth, the casting website is up for Season 9, so FOX probably knows something we don't know.
MasterChef Season 8 premiered with the usual — 40 excellent home chefs battling for slots to impress Gordon Ramsay and the other judges. Oh, and win $250,000, the MasterChef title, and a cookbook deal. Speaking of judges, Season 8 brought a change in that department. James Beard Award-winning chef and restaurateur Aarón Sanchez joined the judges’ panel with Gordon Ramsey and Christina Tosi (founder of the Momofuku Milk Bar empire) after Graham Elliot decided to leave at the end of Season 7. Of joining the season, Sanchez told Parade how excited he was to be a part of MasterChef. “For me, it’s a dream come true. I haven’t wanted something professionally this bad in a long time,” he told the magazine. “Every day brings a surprise,” Sanchez continued. “When you work with Gordon, you have to be on your toes the whole time. For me, it’s a dream come true. It doesn’t get better than MasterChef. I want to be the best. And he constantly holds people to that standard, and that’s why he’s emotional. That’s why he says what he says sometimes. He cares.”
Ramsay and Tosi were excited to bring on Sanchez, too. “Aarón Sánchez is a Mexican-American phenomenon,” said Ramsay, per Parade. Tosi echoed the sentiment, saying, “I’ve worked with Aarón in the same neighborhoods of New York over the years, for over a decade. He’s a friend of mine, and I have a great deal of respect for him as a chef. He’ll bring a great, different perspective.”
Since there’s no word on a Season 9 renewal just yet, there’s no word on who will be on the judges’ panel. But since Sanchez, Ramsay, and Tosi seem to get along like a house on fire, this could be the set lineup for seasons to come.
Sanchez has done some recent press about the finale, but he’s not giving anything up about the winner of MasterChef Season 8. All he could tell TV Insider was that the winner is “resilient, curious, incredibly creative and, above all, a really great student." Come one, Aarón! That’s all? Well, no, not all. He also said, “There is a dish that really plays to one of the contestant’s home lives and that was really special, as I could see the passion and attention to detail that they put forth."
In any case, the Season 8 finale of MasterChef is here so fans will soon know who that winner is, and news about Season 9 will surely follow from FOX (fingers crossed!). In the meantime, there's always MasterChef Junior, right?
