So, The Great British Bake-Off.

@maxwellian introduced the show to me last year by way of this great Anglophenia video about the most talked-about TV shows in the UK, and after an episode or two I was hooked.

Sure, it’s a baking competition show, but rather than leaning on “I”M NOT HERE TO MAKE FRIENDS” hyper-competitive bullshit, The Great British Bake-Off deals in nice people just doing their best in a large white tent erected in a beautiful English field filled with sheep and large-nutted squirrels. Sure, someone gets booted at the end of every episode, but everyone is just so damned cheerful and willing to help each other out in a bind (to say nothing of how legitimately bummed the hosts can sometimes be when someone leaves the tent) that the show gradually becomes the television equivalent of reading a Paddington Bear book.

Add to that the fact that the show is hosted by comedy team Sue Perkins and Mel Giedroyc (both of whom used to write & perform on Ab Fab and have been comedy partners for 27 years), and that the judges are the well-meaning-but-grumpy werewolf Paul Hollywood and the ever-cheerful Mary Berry and you’ve got a recipe for pure charm.

So, Bill, where can I give this show a try so you’ll finally shut up about it?

I THOUGHT YOU’D NEVER ASK. The Great British Bake-Off is slooowly making inroads here in the US: one season of GBBO aired on PBS as ‘The Great British Baking Show’ last year, and a new season (the show’s 4th UK season, which aired in 2013) is airing right now on PBS and is streaming on the PBS website.

In addition to that, the season after that (the show’s 5th UK season from 2014) just became available on Netflix here in the States. Each season features about a dozen contestants and last about 10 one hour-long episodes, so the show isn’t a HUGE time commitment or anything, but if you get hooked you’ll be surprised at how quickly you can burn through an entire season.

Unfortunately, there’s no legal way to watch GBBO here in the States outside the two seasons currently available via PBS and Netflix (the show is available via iTunes and other VOD services in the UK, but nowhere else it seems), though episodes can be found in internet dumpsters if you look hard enough.

That said, it’s a very cute show that’s definitely worth checking out ‘for reals’ if you can - it’s not the end-all be-all of TV or anything, but it is a soothing balm at the end of the day, even if you don’t know a digestive biscuit from a Victorian sandwich. And the latest season (the UK’s 6th!) is wrapping up tomorrow, so hopefully you’ll eventually find out for yourself what a fun baker Nadiya can be.