Why 'The Baker & The Beauty' Fans Might See A Season 2 — Despite Low Ratings

Update: Deadline reported on June 16 that ABC has canceled The Baker and the Beauty.

Earlier: With the inaugural season of The Baker and the Beauty wrapping up on June 1, one question remains in viewers' minds: will The Baker and the Beauty return for Season 2? The answer likely depends on the show's ratings, which leave something to be desired.

When The Baker and the Beauty first premiered in April, it won over audiences with its romantic comedy-inspired story about Daniel (Victor Rasuk), a baker at a family bakery, who finds himself falling for a supermodel, Noa (Nathalie Kelley), after she takes him on a date on the same day Daniel is dumped by his girlfriend, Vanessa (Michelle Veintimilla). There's a bit of the "will they-won't they" tension spread out over the first episode, and that question of whether they'll end up together or not by the end lingers, thanks to the machinations of Vanessa, Daniel's controlling and manipulative ex-girlfriend.

It's a tension that's managed to capture audiences' attentions — something to the tune of an average 2.4 million viewers over their first season, according to TV Series Finale's stats on Nielsen ratings. While that may seem high, it's not an exceptionally large number when compared to the rest of ABC's scripted offerings for the 2019-2020 season. For instance, ABC's #1 show in terms of raw viewership is Station 19, which managed an average 6.4 million viewers over the 2019-2020 season. Second was an old standby, Grey's Anatomy, with 6.23 million viewers. Baker and the Beauty weighed in at 19 out of 20, just narrowly beating Fresh Off the Boat, which pulled in 2.3 million viewers for its final season.

Of course, as important as ratings are, critical response has a large impact on a show's fate. To Baker and the Beauty's credit, they've pulled in a solid amount of acclaim in the form of a strong critical showing on aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes. There, the show sits at an average 86% on the Tomatometer, showing a generally positive response from critics. The audience score is even higher, at 91%, all making for a generally solid showing, critically speaking.

But as far as hard confirmation of a renewal goes, The Baker and the Beauty still remains in limbo, as there's just no word one way or another what the fate of the show might be. But there's a tiny bit of good news for fans of The Baker and the Beauty: showrunner Dean Georgaris told TVLine, "We have Season 2 all mapped out, and we know the network is excited about it, which is good. It just makes it all the more edge-of-your-seat, if you’re us, for the next month or whatever it is before they make their decision."

Georgaris continued, touching on one of the biggest considerations for studios when handing down renewals. He said, "They believe in the show, and they understand what we’re trying to do, and my hope is that there’ll still be room for us. I’m optimistic, but you do never know. Particularly in this environment with a pandemic and things shut down, there is no business as usual."