On this page
01The take
New Regime.
The format running on a tight schedule. The gaps show.
02The shape of the season
A rhythm worth tracking.
Season eight follows season seven by four months — the third installment in eighteen months — and the pace costs something. Jean-Philippe Susilovic's long run at the maitre d' stand ends here; James Lukanik takes over the front of house. The cast works through the format's familiar paces competently but without the edge that made the stronger founding-era seasons memorable. This is Hell's Kitchen as a well-oiled machine rather than a live wire. Functional, watchable, a notch below.
03Where it sits in the canon
The #09 slot.
Slot #09 of 15 in the Hell's Kitchen Editor's Canon. The seasons on either side show what I ranked it against.
No spoilers. Every page is reviewed before it goes live.
06Also appears in