Season Review: Incredible Edible America Season One

Nope…

When you’re promised a show with Jeff Dunham in it, you expect a few things. Some laughs by way of Jeff’s crazy cast of puppet characters that spew punch lines that are on a really thin line in terms of what’s considered “safe”.

So, when I heard that Food Network was doing a show with Jeff Dunham, naturally I assumed the same comedic wit that’s been seen on the likes of CMT, Comedy Central, and even NBC would translate OK for the more family-friendly network. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.

Joined by his wife, and food blogger, Audrey Dunham, the couple traversed through America during Jeff’s various tour stops to stuff themselves on the local cuisine. Atlanta, Las Vegas, Dallas, and more featured a smorgasbord of good-looking food ranging from a mountain of tater-tots to crazy desserts.  For the most part, these assets are indicative of the standard reality show flair you get on Food Network, so the MAIN feature that needs to differentiate itself from the pack HAS to come from the show’s hosts.

Unfortunately, this only half-delivered at that. Gone were Jeff’s really “biting” jokes in favor of more family-friendly affair that really didn’t offer up much variety when it came time to get the obligatory cameos from his “box”. That said, Jeff turned out to be the better “food critic” than his wife. Typically, each episode featured behind-the-scenes action of how the various treats were made, but when it came down to trying and critiquing, Audrey more or less had the Christina Tosi-esque take on rating food, but with not as elaborate as a word count in her reading back of all the ingredients that she already had heard earlier on in the show. Lacking in Audrey’s palette clearly is any sense of seasoning or unique identifiers in a dish and instead, relies on arbitrary adjectives to help get her through a free meal.

Fortunately, Jeff DOES know how to liven up a dull room and does so even with his comedic writing hands tied behind his back, is definitely the glue that keeps the series together. For those looking for a Food Network with no expertise coming from those in the cooking industry, this could be a show for you. For all others, you may want to look elsewhere.

SCORE
6.5/10