Lost Seasons of 'The Great British Baking Show' Finally Available in the U.S.

The Great British Baking Show comes but once a year on Netflix, partly due to the streaming service's hesitation to delve into the variations that PBS initially deemed "too British" and the older seasons the BBC didn't think were worth offering. However, for fans of the long-running reality show who have been missing their Sue & Mel fix or Mary Berry judgments can rejoice, as Roku has made a deal with producer Love Productions to stream all of the episodes from those early years on the BBC, even the ones that never aired on PBS or streamed on Netflix in the first place.

Netflix dropped the rights to the four later seasons of the BBC years, which it had via PBS, around the time it debuted GBBO Season 13. By then, the Channel 4 version of the show, which the streaming service refers to as "Netflix Originals" outside the U.K., had reached six seasons, plenty in its own right. Considering the massive casting turnover when the show moved house, those early editions (especially "Collection 2," which was from the series' initial BBC2 years) no longer felt like they belonged. 

As we previously covered when Love Productions first left the BBC for Channel 4, the numbering system PBS initially implemented when it brought The Great British Bake Off to America was confusing viewers, especially as the older seasons aired out of order on public broadcasting simultaneously with Netflix picking up the new ones. (Both platforms debuted two completely different Season 5s, neither of which was actually Season 5, within ninety days of each other.) Netflix also overcomplicated things; instead of simply starting with Season 8 when it gained co-producer status, it attempted to maintain PBS' numbering system under the guise of "Collections."

Roku blessedly dumped the PBS order wholesale when it nabbed the BBC seasons, restoring the numbering to the original order. Nancy's win is no longer the show's first season, but Season 5, as it was in the U.K.; the PBS "Season 5" with American pies is back to being Season 3. Frances and her crazy creations are in Season 4, Nadiya takes first place in Season 6, and Candice and her lipstick are right back in the BBC's final episodes, Season 7, where they always were. Plus, Seasons 1 and 2, which never aired in America or streamed on Netflix (the original sin that caused all the confusion), are also available for U.S. viewers, and they are a revelation if you aren't aware of how the series began. 

However, Roku didn't just pick up episodes of Baking Show. It also features every special and spinoff that aired on the BBC, including the never-before-seen special "The Great British Wedding Cake," as well as the first two "Festive Specials" the BBC produced post-Season 7. Roku's collection also includes all the Baking Show: Masterclass specials Mary did with Paul Hollywood, as well as the early, never-before-seen one-off Masterclass specials from Seasons 2 and 3 that never aired on PBS. The collection also features the 2013 Paul Hollywood: Bread series, which lasted exactly one season (and we all know why), as well as the BBC seasons of the GBBO aftershow, An Extra Slice, hosted by Jo Brand, which correspond to Seasons 5-7.

But perhaps most exciting of all: Roku has all the seasons of the Celebrity Baking Show charity specials, both the BBC and Channel 4 episodes The episodes include stars like Bonnie Wright (Harry Potter), John Lithgow (The Crown), James McAvoy (His Dark Materials), Russell Tovey (Years & Years), Warwick Davis (Willow), Michael Sheen (Good Omens), Jameela Jamil (She-Hulk), Daisy Ridley (Star Wars), Joanna Lumley, and Jennifer Saunders (Absolutely Fabulous), to name a few.

Roku's deal with Love Productions is part of the franchise's push to expand into the U.S. with The Great American Baking Show, which it previously attempted to bring to U.S. broadcast for three troubled seasons with disastrous results. Exactly how ABC screwed it up is a mystery, since The Great Canadian Baking Show (all eight season of which are also on Roku) is a significant hit in its own right. Roku experimented with a revival in the last year or two with The Great American Baking Show: Celebrity Holiday, which has been well-received by those who discovered it (partly because American celebrities are less inclined to tolerate Paul Hollywood's nonsense). 

The current deal will see Roku take over the main series, The Great American Baking Show, commissioning Season 4, plus new episodes of The Great American Baking Show Celebrity Holiday Special, The Great American Baking Show Big Game, and The Great American Baking Show Celebrity Summer. It will also start producing the teenage version of the series, The Great British Baking Show: Juniors, which Netflix toyed with boarding after Season 7; Roku will produce two new seasons, taking the show to Season 9. And of course, no lineup is complete in the U.S. without a The Great American Baking Show Celebrity Halloween Special.

The Great British Baking Show Seasons 1-7 are streaming on Roku, Seasons 8-15 (still misnumbered under the "Collections" moniker!) stream on Netflix outside of the U.K. Season 16 is expected to debut on Channel 4 and Netflix in September 2025.

(The post was originally published 11.19.22. Updated 5.30.25)