‘Culinary Class Wars’ to return with season 2

A scene from “Culinary Class Wars.” Image: Netflix Korea

The megahit entertainment show “Culinary Class Wars” will return with a second season, Netflix said Tuesday.

The streaming giant unveiled plans to release a new season in the latter half of 2025.

Details regarding the concept, participants and filming schedule have yet to be finalized, according to the producers of the series. However, one creator of “Culinary Class Wars” said the show is hoping to invite celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay for the second season.

Asked about the possibility of including more international participants in the upcoming season given the show’s global popularity, producer Kim Hak-min stated that the second season will continue to focus primarily on its Korean viewership.

“Since it’s a domestic program, I believe gaining recognition within South Korea is most important. … We’ll continue to prioritize our South Korean viewers, and for season two, our main concern will be how they receive the show,” Kim stated during a group interview on Tuesday.

Since its premiere on Sept. 17, “Culinary Class Wars” has been a massive hit, featuring cook-offs between underdog chefs from the “black team” and star chefs from the “white team,” along with various individual competition rounds.

The series, which aired its final episode on Oct. 8, made history as the first Korean entertainment show on Netflix to rank No. 1 among the service’s non-English-language television shows for three consecutive weeks.

Fueled by its captivating cast and innovative survival challenges, the show was a massive online sensation, with memes, parodies and videos of the show garnering millions of views across a variety of platforms.

The show’s immense popularity has also resulted in a sharp increase in reservations at restaurants owned by the participating chefs, with the booking app for the restaurant owned by the series winner crashing after more than 110,000 users attempted to access it simultaneously.

The second season of “Culinary Class Wars” arrives as Netflix Korea grapples with weakening performance, its recent works struggling to match the success of past megahits such as “The Glory” and “Squid Game.”

Industry officials say the success of “Culinary Class Wars” may lead to more investment by Netflix in K-entertainment shows.

According to an official in the content industry, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said “The total production cost for “Culinary Class Wars” is reportedly around 10 billion won, whereas “Gyeongseong Creature” had a budget of approximately 70 billion won. “Culinary Class Wars,” without flashy computer graphics or popular actors, has proven itself to be more profitable than high-budget dramas. This success may attract increased investment in K-entertainment shows.”