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Stormzy‘s upcoming album, This Is What I Mean, will be the UK rap star’s third studio album and is set to release later this month.
This past October, the UK rapper dropped his first track off his forthcoming album, “Mel Made Me Do It,” featuring a cameo from Jose Mourinho, the Portuguese professional football manager, and some narration from actress and screenwriter Michaela Coel.

It’s no surprise Stormzy kept that same energy for his next song, the official lead single for the project, “Hide & Seek,” featuring Top Boy actress Saffron Hocking. Stormzy recently revealed that his latest upcoming project, which will include 12 tracks, was created with “freedom” and fun in mind.

“When you hear about music camps, they always sound intense and somber,” Stormzy said in a recent statement. “People saying: ‘We need to make an album.’ ‘We need to make some hit records.’ But this felt beautifully free. We’re all musicians, but we weren’t always doing music. Some days we played football or walked around taking pictures. And the bi-product [sic] to that was very beautiful music. Because when you marry that ethos with world-class musicians and the best producers, writers, and artists in the world, and we’re in one space, that’s a recipe for something that no one can really imagine. You can’t even calculate what that’s going to come up with. And it came up with a big chunk of this album.

This Is What I Mean is out on 11/25 via Def Jam/Interscope. Pre-save it here.

Check out the full tracklist below.

1. “Fire + Water”
2. “This Is What I Mean”
3. “FireBabe”
4. “Please”
5. “Need You”
6. “Hide & Seek”
7. “My Presidents Are Black”
8. “Sampha’s Plea”
9. “Holy Spirit”
10. “Bad Blood”
11. “I Got My Smile Back”
12. “Give It to the Water”

The biggest night in music is nearly upon us. As musicians anxiously tune into the 2023 Grammy nomination stream, Kendrick Lamar can sit back confidently. The “We Cry Together” rapper has earned six nominations for the ceremony beating out all other hip-hop acts.

Despite receiving mixed reviews from critics, Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers, brings the Compton native’s nomination total to 47. The album and lead single, “The Heart Pt. 5” snatched the nominations for Song of the Year, Best Rap Album, Best Rap Performance, Best Music Video, and Record of the Year. A close runner-up with three nominations, DJ Khaled is the second most nominated hip-hop act.
Khaled and Lamar will battle it out in the same categories, except Best Music Video, Record of the Year, and Album of the Year.

This year’s ceremony will be quite interesting to watch as Nicki Minaj is notably absent from the nomination list. Also, other notable nominees, Young Thug and Gunna are still incarcerated as they are fighting a RICO case against the state of Georgia.

The 65th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony will be held at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on February 5, 2023. The ceremony will be broadcasted live on the CBS Television Network and streamed live and on-demand on Paramount+.

Just a few months ago, GloRilla was in Memphis hangin’ out the window with her ratchet-ass friends. Today, she’s nominated for a Best Rap Performance Grammy for “FNF (Let’s Go),” the song on which she raps the previous reference.

What a year it’s been for GloRilla. In the wake of the success of her and Hitkidd’s breakout hit, she was signed to Yo Gotti’s label Collective Music Group, following up with a string of well-received singles including “Tomorrow 2” with Cardi B, which delivered her first-ever appearance in the top ten of the Hot 100. And while you’d be hard-pressed to imagine how things could get better from there, Glo wound up winning Best Breakthrough Artist at the BET Hip-Hop Awards, being the voice of her hometown Grizzlies’ 2022-23 season hype video, was tapped to perform at the 2023 American Music Awards, and got shout-outs from all over hip-hop, from Lil Baby and ASAP Rocky to living legend Nas on his new album King’s Disease III, which dropped the same night as her debut EP.

That last acknowledgment blew the 23-year-old rapper’s mind, prompting her to gush about Nas’ legendary status (and unwittingly undercut 21 Savage’s assertion that he is no longer “relevant”). Glo will now be competing for the honor with other huge artists like Doja Cat, Gunna, Kendrick and Lamar, along with their respective features including Jay-Z, Future, Young Thug, and more.

You can see the full list of Grammys nominations here.

Mike (real name Michael Jordan Bonema) is a special hip-hop talent. It’s not uncommon to see the New York-based rapper being praised for both his lyricism and production skills. Indeed, he’s a well-rounded individual, and any renaissance man like that must have quite the story to tell. Mike sure does and he outlines it in a new episode of Scenes.

In the clip, he discusses what drives his signature lyrical honesty, saying, “When I was younger, it was hard for me to just talk about emotional stuff. Music became a thing where… that was the one place where vulnerability was OK, for me to feel like my whole self and not just the bit that’s conforming to the rest of what the world wants me to conform to.”

Beyond that, he also gets into topics like his record label 10k, his associates, the role New York plays in his life and career, and what’s next.

The music community started taking notice of Mike when he dropped a handful of well-received self-released projects in 2015. He had a bit of a commercial breakthrough with his latest project, 2021’s Disco!, his first album to rank on the Billboard Top Current Album Sales chart. He’s looking to build on that momentum with Beware Of The Monkey, a new album set to drop just before the year comes to a close, on December 21.

Check Mike out in the video above.

More performers were added to the 2022 Latin Grammy Awards. In an announcement made yesterday (November 14), Colombian superstar Karol G and Dominican-American icon Romeo Santos were added to the line-up.

Karol G is nominated for three Latin Grammy Awards this year. Her nominations include Song Of The Year and Record Of The Year for her global hit “Provenza.” Karol G’s breakup anthem “Mamiii” with Becky G is up for Best Urban Song. In 2018, she won her first Latin Grammy Award for Best New Artist.

Santos will also be performing at the event. He has achieved global success as a solo artist and as the lead singer of the group Aventura. Romeo Santos is nominated for Best Long Form Music Video for the documentary Romeo Santos: King of Bachata. As a member of Aventura, he shares a nomination with Bad Bunny for their collaboration “Volví” in the Best Urban Fusion/Performance category. In September, Santos released his album Fórmula, Vol. 3 with the hit “Sin Fin” featuring Justin Timberlake.

Latin Grammy Cultural Foundation scholarship recipients Xavier Cintrón, Valentina Garcia, Nicolle Horbath, and Sergio De Miguel Jorquera will also be performing alongside Nicky Jam. Bad Bunny is the most-nominated artist of the year with 10 nominations. The 2022 Latin Grammy Awards will take place in Las Vegas on Thursday, November 17. The ceremony will be broadcast live on Univision.

The Grammys nominations have arrived — but for two of the nominees, their acknowledgment has to be bittersweet. Gunna and Young Thug are learning about it from behind bars while facing the possibility of not only missing the ceremony but also ending up incarcerated for the next several years. They’re nominated for Best Rap Song for Gunna’s song “Pushin P” which also features Future — which is ironic, considering they are both currently locked up awaiting trial on racketeering charges due mainly to their rap lyrics shouting out their crew YSL.

While the acronym stands for Young Stoner Life, the name of Young Thug’s label (where Gunna is one of his premier artists), Georgia prosecutors insist that it’s really a reference to Young Slime Life, a gang they say has ties to the Bloods (an iffy proposition, considering there’s no nationwide organization for the California-based gang or its various spin-offs). The use of the rappers’ lyrics to connect them to supposed criminal activity has been widely criticized both by the music industry and by lawmakers in other jurisdictions, who’ve proposed legislation limiting the use of lyrics, which is seen as racist and unjust. They’ve also been denied bond multiple times, despite prosecutors failing to prove they are a danger to the public.

Gunna and Thug will be competing against Jack Harlow and Drake (“Churchill Downs”), DJ Khaled featuring Rick Ross, Lil Wayne, and Jay-Z (“God Did”), Kendrick Lamar (“The Heart Part 5”), and Future and Drake (“Wait For U”). But their real fight will begin before that when they go to trial in early 2023.

Gunna and Young Thug are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

The rascally Charlie Hunnam traveled far away from the Sons of Anarchy universe with Apple TV+’s Shantaram. It’s a story that adapts Gregory David Roberts’ long and winding book that follows an Australian fugitive who lands in Bombay’s slums, where he connects with humanity in ways both dark and light. The show can be stressful at times, but this is ultimately a story that’s life-affirming, which is also how Hunnam seems to feel about certain Apple products.

Hunnam previously admitted that Apple could handle him poking some fun at the tech giant, and when he sat down with the New York Times, the truth came out. In short, Hunnam strongly connects with the iPod, but he doesn’t appear to feel the same way about the iPhone (or any smart phone). Here’s how that went with the NYT:

“The iPod was a brilliant, brilliant invention. It allowed us to have enormous libraries of music in our pocket, unfettered by any other distraction. I listen to music all the time when I’m acting, but I never, ever, ever will take my phone to set. So this integration of everything onto the smartphone, I think, was a mistake. The iPod was a beautiful moment in time — having access to music without the entire world having access to you.”

The interview’s full of other revelations, including Hunnam’s assertion that “maybe I was born a cat in a human body” for various reasons, including how his cat, George, was one of the most valuable relationships in his entire life. As a dog person, I’ll take Charlie’s word for that one, but on subjects where I feel more confident, let’s just say that you should take the bike ride that is Shantaram on Apple TV+.

(Via New York Times)

Most teams in the NBA are either aiming for high-end playoff contention or heading toward the bottom and the race for Victor Wembenyama. The Washington Wizards began the 2022-23 season doing neither. Washington has long been a franchise pegged for the middle, with an apparent eagerness from ownership to simply compete for the postseason despite outsiders struggling to see a path to real contention in the future. In the big picture, that remains the case, but the Wizards are quietly playing quite well and maximizing their roster through 14 games.

Washington is 8-6 this season and currently riding a four-game winning streak — doing so with star guard Bradley Beal sitting out in health and safety protocols. That run includes wins over Dallas, Utah, and Memphis, and the Wizards have a sparkling 102.0 defensive rating in that sample. For the season, Washington is defending at a rock-solid level, yielding only 110.5 points per 100 possessions, and the Wizards are building out a strong unit on the fundamentals.

Washington is in the top five of the NBA in defensive rebound rate (74.4 percent) and free throw rate allowed (0.232), helping to boost overall efficiency. The Wizards are also holding opponents to 49.7 percent shooting on two-point attempts and 45.1 percent shooting overall, ranking in the top five in both, and Washington is essentially walling off the rim. The Wizards are giving up only 29.2 percent of opponent shot attempts at the rim, an elite rate, and teams are shooting only 62.9 percent on rim attempts, per Cleaning The Glass. Some of those numbers may regress, but the baseline is sound, and it is a reminder that Washington does have intriguing personnel.

While Beal remains the headliner when he’s on the floor, one could argue Kristaps Porzingis has been the best player for Washington this season. Not only is the big man averaging 20.5 points and 8.2 rebounds per game, but Porzingis is paying off the “unicorn” hype with strong three-point shooting (38.7 percent) and high-end rim protection. He ranks in the top quartile of the league in field goal percentage allowed at the rim, and Porzingis is a genuine deterrent with his fantastic length and solid positioning.

Overall, the Wizards aren’t going to light the world on fire, simply because they do not have the game-changing talent necessary to do so on a nightly basis. Still, Washington does have quality depth, and players like Kyle Kuzma are operating at a high level in support of Beal and Porzingis. Will the Wizards make a run to the top six in the East? Probably not, but Washington is competitive and solid at the very least, and there are worse things to be.

Where do the Wizards rank in this week’s DIME power rankings? Let’s find out.

1. Boston Celtics (11-3, Last week — 3rd)

A new No. 1 emerges on account of a seven-game winning streak. Boston is rolling with the best offense (118.8 points per 100) this season and an even better clip during the winning streak. The Celtics have been oddly average on defense but, without Robert Williams, Boston is playing a bit differently and enjoying the results.

2. Milwaukee Bucks (10-3, Last week — 1st)

Milwaukee has lost three of four and no one should be worried in the slightest. Two of the losses came without Jrue Holiday, one came without Giannis, and the Bucks haven’t had Khris Middleton all season. Now, to be fair, Milwaukee’s offense was horrific on Monday against Atlanta, but that might be expected on a night when Giannis was (relatively) human and the perimeter creation was non-existent.

3. Denver Nuggets (9-4, Last week — 7th)

The Nuggets are 7-2 in the last nine games and bludgeoning opponents with more than 1.17 points per possession. It helps to win close games from a record standpoint, but Denver has also played nine road games and four home games while maintaining this very solid mark. Things are going well.

4. Atlanta Hawks (9-5, Last week — 8th)

It doesn’t necessarily feel like the Hawks are 9-5, particularly when considering the team’s offense has dipped from No. 2 in the NBA last year to No. 13 right now. Atlanta’s shot profile isn’t fantastic and they are missing the trio of Kevin Huerter (trade), Danilo Gallinari (trade), and Bogdan Bogdanovic (injury) on that end of the floor. With that said, the Hawks are swarming on defense behind the frontcourt duo of Clint Capela and John Collins. We’ll see if it’s sustainable, but the Hawks are a stunning No. 8 in the league in defensive efficiency.

5. Dallas Mavericks (7-5, Last week — 6th)

A pair of road losses this week got people talking and speculating that Luka Doncic was already running out of gas. He responded in kind with 42 points, 13 rebounds, and 10 assists against Portland in a nice home win. Dallas probably needs to figure more out to take some of the heat off Doncic, but Spencer Dinwiddie is also playing great and the formula generally works.

6. Phoenix Suns (8-5, Last week — 4th)

Friday’s loss was pretty bad for the Suns, falling by double-digits in Orlando. That was part of a stretch of four losses in six games, but the fundamentals look fine for Phoenix. The power forward spot continues to be in flux with Cam Johnson’s injury and no sign of Jae Crowder, so that is a situation to monitor.

7. Philadelphia 76ers (7-7, Last week — 11th)

Philadelphia looks to be alive and Joel Embiid is dominating. Embiid famously had 101 (!) points over a 24-hour period, including a 59-point performance for the ages against Utah. The Sixers are defending at a higher level, and even the team’s loss this week wasn’t disastrous on the road in Atlanta.

8. Utah Jazz (10-5, Last week — 5th)

The Jazz have adversity for the first time this season, losing back-to-back games on the road. It is still wild to see this Utah team sitting at 10-5 overall, but the Jazz do have a slowing schedule on the horizon and the opportunity to stabilize.

9. Memphis Grizzlies (9-5, Last week — 10th)

Memphis has an intriguing showdown with New Orleans on TNT on Tuesday evening, and that is one to circle. The Grizzlies might get Jaren Jackson Jr. back after a season-long absence and, when the Grizzlies have been healthy (other than Jackson), they’ve been very, very good. On the whole, the numbers are relatively pedestrian, but the Grizzlies have earned the benefit of the doubt.

10. Portland Trail Blazers (9-4, Last week — 9th)

The Blazers did lose their last game on Saturday, but Portland remains one of the better stories of the season. The Blazers already have six (!) wins in games they’ve trailed by at least ten points, and Portland is stunningly No. 6 in the league in defense. That might regress a bit, but the Blazers have a pretty friendly home slate this week to perhaps grab a couple of wins.

11. Golden State Warriors (6-8, Last week — 14th)

The Warriors absolutely hammered the Spurs on Monday for a third win in the last four games. It’s a familiar refrain in that Golden State is good when the starters play and horrible when the bench guys play but, um, are the Warriors ever going to win a road game? They’ll have another chance on Wednesday in Phoenix.

12. Toronto Raptors (8-7, Last week — 12th)

The Raptors have a +8.9 net rating with Pascal Siakam on the court and a -2.2 net rating with him off the court. Toronto has managed a 3-3 record when Siakam is entirely out, but the Raptors are missing their best player and that, unsurprisingly, has cooled them off some.

13. New Orleans Pelicans (7-6, Last week — 13th)

New Orleans has metrics that are better than its record through 13 games. Tuesday’s matchup with Memphis should be a nice test if everyone plays, but there is also something that isn’t quite locking in with the Pelicans on offense. Perhaps it is the fact that the Pels are dead-last in the NBA in three-point attempts per game.

14. Cleveland Cavaliers (8-5, Last week — 2nd)

It was actually the defense that let Cleveland down during a four-game losing streak. The Cavs gave up more than 1.22 points per possession and got generally blitzed. The offense continues to cook, though, and as long as Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen are around, the defense should be okay.

15. L.A. Clippers (8-6, Last week — 15th)

The Clippers still aren’t scoring, and part of that can be attributed to the absence of Kawhi Leonard. On defense, L.A. is lighting it up, holding opponents to 105.9 points per 100 over a 6-2 stretch. It’s safe to think that the Clippers are at least pretty good when Paul George plays, even if Kawhi doesn’t.

16. Miami Heat (7-7, Last week — 20th)

With the exception of an errant arena sponsorship, the Heat had a good week. We covered Miami’s shaky start in-depth last week, but the Heat came out and won all three games. Admittedly, two of those wins came at home against Charlotte and the third was (very) narrow against Phoenix, but 7-7 is better than 4-7.

17. Washington Wizards (8-6, Last week — 22nd)

As covered earlier, the Wizards are on an upswing. It may not stop for a bit either, as Washington hosts Oklahoma City, Miami, and Charlotte in the nation’s capital this week. That’s a friendly slate.

18. Sacramento Kings (6-6, Last week — 24th)

The Kings have won three in a row and four of the last five. The Kings are .500 this season. The Kings are No. 6 in the league in offense and bringing a perimeter shooting avalanche on a nightly basis. Can the Kings get stops? Maybe not, but this is a fun start.

19. Indiana Pacers (6-6, Last week — 19th)

Indiana hasn’t played since Saturday, but the Pacers just went 3-1 over a four-game homestand and beat Miami, New Orleans, and Toronto. This is still a (very) bad defensive basketball team, but Indiana is No. 7 in offense and launching more threes with a young, fun roster. Optimism reigns.

20. Brooklyn Nets (6-8, Last week — 21st)

Sunday was pretty gross for the Nets, losing by 13 to the current version of the Lakers without LeBron. The bigger picture is better, though, as Brooklyn is 4-2 without Kyrie Irving and actually showing life on defense. It will be quite interesting to see what happens when Kyrie returns, but the on-court triage has been notable.

21. Chicago Bulls (6-8, Last week — 17th)

None of the last five games are individually alarming for the Bulls. Chicago lost to Boston, Toronto, New Orleans, and Denver, and none of those results is particularly embarrassing. It’s still a 1-4 downturn, and the Bulls have a bottom-10 offense after a 23-point home loss to the Nuggets.

22. New York Knicks (6-7, Last week — 18th)

From a record standpoint, 6-7 seems reasonable for the Knicks. Still, it doesn’t feel that way with the No. 25 net rating in the league and a Sunday afternoon loss that featured 145 (!!!) points from the Thunder at MSG. Any team can have an outlier performance on defense, but the Knicks aren’t getting stops and they aren’t rebounding. This isn’t a team that can afford those shortcomings.

23. Minnesota Timberwolves (6-8, Last week — 16th)

Minnesota slips this week, and that might seem strange after a road win over Cleveland on Sunday. Zooming out, the Wolves are 2-6 in the last eight games, giving up more than 1.16 points per possession in that stretch. It was nice to “get right” against Cleveland, but the Cavs didn’t have their full roster and it’s been a really rough start in the Twin Cities.

24. Oklahoma City Thunder (6-8, Last week — 25th)

It’s time to have a dialogue about Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The 24-year-old guard has shot 50 percent or higher in 10 of 13 games this season while also scoring 28 points or more in 10 of 13 contests. That brings Gilgeous-Alexander to season-long averages of 31.5 points and 5.8 assists on 54/38/94 shooting. He’ll probably cool off, but the leap might be happening here and Oklahoma City is No. 21 in the league in offense. That might not sound like much, but it’s a large team-wide improvement on that end.

25. San Antonio Spurs (6-8, Last week — 23rd)

San Antonio was unceremoniously blasted by Golden State on Monday, and that is one of those losses that will hurt in the metrics. The Spurs are also 1-6 in the last seven games, and the only win came against the Zombie Bucks without Giannis and Jrue Holiday. Yes, the Spurs are 6-8, but San Antonio’s statistical profile paints a less exciting picture.

26. Los Angeles Lakers (3-10, Last week — 27th)

The Lakers have a bizarre four-day break between games on Sunday and Friday. That makes for a bit of a boring week upcoming for a team that is rarely boring, but Los Angeles did close the weekend with a win over Brooklyn without LeBron. It helps that the Lakers shot 41 percent from three with only turnovers in that game, but we’ll learn more about Los Angeles when LeBron is back.

27. Charlotte Hornets (4-11, Last week — 26th)

Charlotte managed to avoid the bottom three by beating Orlando on Monday night. That victory stopped an eight-game losing streak and LaMelo Ball is back. He is shooting only 33.3 percent through two games, but the bigger takeaway is that Ball can (finally) bring some juice to the league’s No. 28 offense.

28. Orlando Magic (4-10, Last week — 30th)

It was a good week for Orlando, even if it ended with a home loss to Charlotte on Monday. The Magic beat Dallas and Phoenix at home, and Orlando has a sneaky respectable -2.2 net rating this season that would tell you they might be better than this win-loss record.

29. Detroit Pistons (3-12, Last week — 28th)

There was a groundswell of optimism about Detroit as a potential play-in sleeper in the East. That is basically gone now. The Pistons are getting healthier, but this has been the worst defense in the league to this point. Cade Cunningham is out with shin soreness and, with the former No. 1 pick off the court, Detroit has a hideous 101.8 offensive rating and a -13.5 net rating in 320 minutes.

30. Houston Rockets (2-12, Last week — 29th)

Houston has the worst record in the league and it is very gross on both ends. The statistical profile paints a bleak picture with bottom-five marks in offensive and defensive efficiency, but it’s just going to be tough to win if the Rockets continue to average only 1.24 assists for every turnover. Jalen Green is finding his way in leading the team in scoring in five straight games, but it’s an adventure.

After reigning over the Hallmark Channel as the Queen of Christmas Movies, Candace Cameron Bure followed former Hallmark CEO Bill Abbott out the door as he started the ultra-conservative Great American Family network. Abbott infamously left Hallmark after the network reversed a controversial decision to pull an ad featuring a same-sex couple, so it shouldn’t be a total surprise that the content strategy for Great America Family is, uh, in line with that decisions.

To promote the premiere of her first Christmas movie for the network, Bure gave an interview to the Wall Street Journal and made it a point to note that the content on Great American Family will keep “keep traditional marriage at the core.” It’s important to note that Bure isn’t just saying this as an actress, but as the network’s Chief Creative Officer. Via TVLine:

“My heart wants to tell stories that have more meaning and purpose and depth behind them,” Bure tells the Wall Street Journal. “I knew that the people behind Great American Family were Christians that love the Lord and wanted to promote faith programming and good family entertainment.”

Bure publicly stating that Great American Family will not feature gay couples sparked a wave of backlash, particularly from One Tree Hill actress Hilarie Burton, who has been sounding the alarm on Abbott for years.

“Now they’re just openly admitting their bigotry,” Burton wrote on Twitter. “I called this sh*t out years ago when Abbott was at Hallmark. Glad they dumped him. Being LGBTQ isn’t a ‘trend.’ That guy and his network are disgusting. You too Candy. There is nothing untraditional about same-sex couples.”

“Bigot. I don’t remember Jesus liking hypocrites like Candy,” Burton added after seeing another headline about Bure’s remarks. “But sure. Make your money, honey. You ride that prejudice wave all the way to the bank.”

(Via TVLine, Hilarie Burton on Twitter)

For over a decade, The Great British Bake-Off has been reliable, mostly drama and conflict-free entertainment. The endearing program, which puts Britain’s best home bakers in a tent and asks them to compete in themed challenges each week that challenge their creative and technical skills for a grand prize of… nothing except the title of winner of The Great British Bake-Off, was once the television equivalent of a weighted blanket. The tent is filled with pastel cabinets and appliances, plants, and fairy lights. All contestants are super nice to each other. When sending contestants off the show, hosts spend valuable screen time explaining how sad they are to do so. Judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith (and formerly Mary Berry), while honest, were never mean. Even when they complained of soggy bottoms or underbaked cakes, they did it softly and kindly, with a compliment to balance out the criticism.

Not much has changed visually: same tent, same pastel cabinets, and appliances, same fairy lights, the contestants are still obsessed with each other and the hosts still give their long, dramatic speeches about how much they regret sending anyone home. But the series, now in its 13th season (the 10th collection on Netflix) has made a dark, weird pivot that is so different from what the show used to be that I wonder if I am hallucinating.

Despite its wholesome quality and overall pleasantness that was never too nauseatingly pleasant, the show has had its dilemmas. There was Iain’s disastrous baked Alaska in season five, which sent the contestants, judges, and world into a tailspin. But now, the show has gotten darker. In the current season, the quirky collection of bakers, who are the truest home bakers the show has ever seen, are sloppier than ever (although who am I, someone who can barely make boxed brownies, to say). This has made judges Paul and Prue meaner, and quite honestly tired of it all. Hosts Noel Fielding and Matt Lucas’s unhinged, occasionally admirable bits feel like they were conceived ten minutes before call time, and you can see and feel their guilt as Paul and Prue are harsher and harsher on the humble contestants. The season’s themes, from “Mexican Week” to “Halloween Week,” and challenges which include tacos, masks, and weird s’mores, have completely lost the plot.

While the earlier episodes contained a hint of the series’ new “am I on drugs or am I watching The Great British Bake-Off?” vibe, it was Mexican Week that really solidified its dark turn, with offensive stereotypes and ignorance of an entire culture that was meant to be celebrated. There were also some very interesting pronunciations of quite common Mexican dishes including pico de gallo and guacamole.

Then during “Bread Week,” there was a pizza that looked like this, although to be fair to contestant Carole, she knew that she put too much cheese on it immediately.

The judges are snappier, and so are the contestants. This is, of course, The Great British Bake-Off’s version of snappy, so it is still a quite pleasant version of snappy, but it’s a huge departure from the chummy precedent. In one episode of the current season, contestant Dawn fires back at judge Paul Hollywood when he says that she reminds him of his mother.

In another episode, Prue suggests that not many people make spring rolls (which is more ignorant than weird).

In the quarter-final, co-host Noel Fielding says that he is “traumatized” and Paul Hollywood straight up says that he is disappointed with the contestants.

Alas, this all seems to be a result of the series deal with Netflix. Since 2018, the series has had a deal with Netflix. New seasons air in the U.K., and the episodes are available to stream on Netflix stateside days later. A few years into the deal, and Netflix’s signature and exhausting gimmicky meme-thirsty influence is all over The Great British Bake-Off. An attempt to make the show younger and goofier has worked against it. What was once a relaxing, reliable, and already goofy time, is now a vaguely depressing and exhausting one for all involved from hosts to judges, contestants to the audience.

Essentially, the answer to the question, “is The Great British Bake-Off okay?” is a resounding, trembly no.