The Curious Creations of Christine McConnell

Last updated

The Curious Creations of Christine McConnell
Genre Sitcom
Created byChristine McConnell
Developed by Netflix
Written by Kirk R. Thatcher
Directed byKirk R. Thatcher
Presented byChristine McConnell
Starring
Voices of
Narrated byMichael Oosterom
ComposerMick Giacchino
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes6
Production
Executive producers
  • Christine McConnell
  • Brian Henson
  • Vincent J. Raisa
  • Kirk R. Thatcher
  • Judith Regan
Producers
  • Nathan Ament
  • Andrea Stockert
CinematographyDominique Martinez
Running time24–28 minutes
Production companies
Original release
NetworkNetflix
ReleaseOctober 12, 2018 (2018-10-12)

The Curious Creations of Christine McConnell is an American television sitcom created by and starring Christine McConnell. It premiered on Netflix on October 12, 2018. The series consists of six episodes and was produced by Wilshire Studios and Henson Alternative, an arm of The Jim Henson Company. [1] In April 2019, the series was canceled after one season. [2]

Contents

Premise

The show centers around Christine McConnell, an artist and baker who lives in a mansion full of monsters and ghosts. Accompanied by Rose, Rankle, and Edgar, McConnell loves to create morbid-looking desserts like gingerbread haunted houses, caramel spiders and bones made of pretzel sticks, peanut butter and white chocolate.

A combination of a DIY show and scripted reality, the show deals with annoying neighbors, relatives, and what to wear on a first date with someone you just met at the cemetery.

Characters

Production

Netflix had expressed interest in a goth-inspired series for a long time.[ citation needed ] McConnell, who already had a large following on Reddit and Instagram, pitched the show to Netflix and Brian Henson. [4] Following the success of Julie's Greenroom , which had been released in early 2017, Netflix expressly wanted the Jim Henson company to produce the show. The company claimed that it was coordinating many other projects, however, Henson Alternative picked up the show.

Filming began in early 2017, and the series was released on October 12, 2018. [5] McConnell was principally responsible for editing and post-production. She shot and edited many of the promotional posters herself, [6] and recorded her own voiceovers for the baking segments of each episode.

Episodes

No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal release dateProd.
code
1"Snacks for Strays" Kirk R. Thatcher Kirk R. ThatcherOctober 12, 2018 (2018-10-12)101
Christine discovers Edgar the werewolf on her front doorstep, and makes peanut butter and chocolate bones, constructs a decorated cake mansion, and a creature out of cereal treats to welcome him into the household.
2"Gifts for Noisy Neighbors"Kirk R. ThatcherKirk R. ThatcherOctober 12, 2018 (2018-10-12)102
Next door neighbor Mr. Ketcham visits to complain about the noise, so Christine makes him some spooky cookies, peppermint bark horns and hand-carved candles as a good will gesture. While she is busy baking, the creatures band together to kidnap and torture him. He accepts the gifts, but refuses her apologies.
3"The Dinner Date"Kirk R. ThatcherKirk R. ThatcherOctober 12, 2018 (2018-10-12)103
Christine gets clothing advice from Vivienne, and makes wolf claw donuts for her dead grandmother, who she visits that afternoon. At the cemetery she meets Norman, and invites him to dinner. She sews a dress and makes a ‘classic’ chicken pot pie. Norman appears suspiciously familiar with knives, but they both find each other attractive.
4"A Spirited Tea Party"Kirk R. ThatcherKirk R. ThatcherOctober 12, 2018 (2018-10-12)104
When Christine’s cousin Evie comes to visit, Christine plans a tea party, making cups and plates out of chocolate. But after finding a will that leaves everything to Christine, her cousin decides to kill her. Two Mental Hospital Orderlies arrive and the axe wielding Evie is taken away.
5"A Cake for Rose"Kirk R. ThatcherKirk R. ThatcherOctober 12, 2018 (2018-10-12)105
It’s Rose’s birthday today. Christine and the creatures want to plan a surprise party for her. Christine makes a cake in the shape of Rose. But Rose is suspicious and thinks that Christine is making her ‘replacement’. In anger, she decides to set the house on fire. But after Christine stops Rose's plan, Christine and her creatures surprise Rose with some gifts and treats.
6"Halloween Tricks & Treats"Kirk R. ThatcherKirk R. ThatcherOctober 12, 2018 (2018-10-12)106
It’s Halloween, and Christine has made special cookies for the day. Norman comes over to help with the trick or treaters. Christine makes caramel treats that look like real spiders for the children. Evie returns, and kills Rose. Norman disposes of Christine’s cousin, and Christine brings Rose back to life.

Reception

The show received critical praise for the mixture of retro styling and Gothic aesthetic, use of puppetry, and quirky charm of the series, [7] while pointing out that lack of directions, unfamiliarity with some of the specialist materials used, and the elaborate construction of the creations would mean making them was beyond most home cooks. [5] [7] [8]

The New Yorker commented that "As cooking lessons, McConnell's demos are almost entirely useless", but the show, "like her Instagram, is beautiful, morbid, bizarre, and raunchy [and] becomes a wonderfully fantastical take on the classic dump-and-stir cooking show". [5]

Emma Stefansky of Thrillist also posted a positive review, calling it "a perfectly creepy cooking show". [9] The Washington Post labelled her creations "elaborate dishes that are simultaneously delicious and disturbing". [8] The Daily Dot described the series as "silly, sly, and utterly charming". [7] USA Today listed it as one of their "top five best baking TV shows to binge-watch this weekend". [10]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Jim Henson Company</span> American entertainment company

The Jim Henson Company, formerly known as Muppets, Inc., Henson Associates, Inc., and Jim Henson Productions, Inc., is an American entertainment company located in Los Angeles, California. The company is known for its innovations in the field of puppetry, particularly through the creation of Kermit the Frog and the Muppets characters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taraji P. Henson</span> American actress (born 1970)

Taraji Penda Henson is an American actress. She has received several accolades, including a Golden Globe Award as well as nominations for an Academy Award, a Tony Award and six Emmy Awards. In 2016 and 2024, Time named Henson one of the 100 most influential people in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Katie Lee (chef)</span> American chef (born 1981)

Katherine Lee is an American cookbook author, television food critic, chef and novelist born in West Virginia. She has worked in several restaurants and published two cookbooks. She served as a contributor to several magazines and TV shows, including Iron Chef America, an American cooking show competition, where she was a judge in 2007. She is a co-host of Food Network's talk show The Kitchen, and the host of Cooking Channel's Beach Bites with Katie Lee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Minka Kelly</span> American actress (born 1980)

Minka Kelly is an American actress and philanthropist. She rose to fame for her role as Lyla Garrity on the NBC drama series Friday Night Lights (2006–2009). In 2011, Kelly starred in the films The Roommate and Searching for Sonny, had a recurring role as Gaby on NBC's family drama series Parenthood (2010–2011) and a main role as Eve French in the revival of ABC's action series Charlie's Angels (2011). Kelly portrayed Dawn Granger / Dove on the first three seasons of the DC Universe/Max superhero series Titans (2018–2021).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carla Hall</span> American chef and television personality

Carla Hall is an American chef, television personality and former model.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alie Ward</span> American writer and painter

Alison Ann "Alie" Ward is an American writer, actress, and television and podcast host. Born in California, Ward graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara with a degree in cinema. In 2016, she won an Emmy for Outstanding Writing Special Class for the CBS series Innovation Nation. In 2022, the iHeartRadio Podcast Awards named her podcast Ologies “Best Science Podcast”, and the Webby Awards honored Ward as “Best Podcast Host.”

Stefania LaVie Owen is a New Zealand-American actress. She is known for her roles as Puddle Kadubic in the television series Running Wilde and as Dorrit Bradshaw in the teen drama television series The Carrie Diaries. She starred as Melanie in the film Paper Spiders, as Bear in the Netflix show Sweet Tooth, and as Nicole Chance in the Hulu original psychological thriller Chance.

Rosanna Jeanne Reardon, known online as Rosanna Pansino is an American YouTuber, actress, author, businesswoman, and singer. She is known for hosting her baking series Nerdy Nummies on YouTube (2011–present). She has written two cookbooks and released a baking line based on the show. She has won a Shorty Award and five Streamy Award nominations for Nerdy Nummies, was listed first on Forbes'Top Influencers: Food list in 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nadiya Hussain</span> English baker and author (born 1984)

Nadiya Jamir Hussain is a British television chef, author and television personality. She rose to fame after winning the sixth series of BBC's The Great British Bake Off in 2015. Since winning, she has signed contracts with the BBC to host the documentary The Chronicles of Nadiya and TV cookery series Nadiya's British Food Adventure and Nadiya's Family Favourites; co-presented The Big Family Cooking Showdown; and has become a regular contributor on The One Show.

<i>Popples</i> (2015 TV series) 2015 multi-national TV series or program

Popples is a children's animated television series based on the Popples toy line produced by Saban Brands, Method Animation and Zagtoon, in co-production with Nexus Factory and Umedia, with the participation of Tiji, Gulli, and DQ Entertainment International, and in association with SOFITVCINE 2 and UFund. The series portrays the adventures of the comedic pals Bubbles, Sunny, Lulu, Izzy, and Yikes. It is an original series distributed by Netflix. The last Popples television adaptation to air was a 1986 animated series.

<i>Halloween Baking Championship</i> American food reality television series

Halloween Baking Championship is an American cooking reality competition series that premiered on Food Network on October 5, 2015. Like its sister show Holiday Baking Championship, it's a seasonal program that runs for a few weeks annually and aims to crown the best baker of spooky desserts during the Halloween season. The tenth season premiered on September 16, 2024.

Amybeth McNulty is an Irish actress. She is known for her starring role as Anne Shirley in the CBC/Netflix drama series Anne with an E (2017–2019), based on the 1908 novel Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery. She has also played loquacious teenager Vickie in the Netflix science fiction horror series Stranger Things (2022–present).

<i>Luna Petunia</i> Television series

Luna Petunia is a live action/animated television series co-produced by Saban Brands, BrainPower Studio and Cirque du Soleil Media. The series premiered on Netflix on December 9, 2016. It follows the adventures of a live-action little girl named Luna Petunia who receives a toy chest on her birthday where she is transported into the animated world of Amazia where she learns how to make the impossible possible. Season 2 was released on July 7, 2017. Season 3 was released on November 17, 2017.

Legend Quest is a Mexican animated fantasy comedy-horror television series created for Netflix produced by Ánima Estudios. It is based on the characters created by Mexican animator Ricardo Arnaiz, and is part of the Leyendas animated franchise. This is the streaming network's first original animated series produced in Latin America.

You is an American psychological thriller television series based on the books by Caroline Kepnes, developed by Greg Berlanti and Sera Gamble, and produced by Berlanti Productions, Alloy Entertainment, and A+E Studios in association with Warner Horizon Television, now Warner Bros. Television.

Zac Young is an American pastry chef and TV personality. He has been featured on various baking shows on Food Network and the Cooking Channel, most notably on Top Chef: Just Desserts and Unique Sweets. He also appeared as a guest judge on baking competition show Nailed It! on Netflix, Food Network's Halloween Baking Championship, and Food Network's Chopped.

<i>Chip and Potato</i> Childrens animated television series

Chip and Potato is an animated children's television series created by Billy Macqueen, Catherine Williams, and Maddy Darrall. The series is co-produced by WildBrain Studios and Darrall Macqueen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Claire Saffitz</span> American pastry chef and video host

Claire Saffitz is an American food writer, chef, and YouTube personality. Until mid-2020, she was a contributing editor at Bon Appétit magazine and starred in several series on the Bon Appétit YouTube channel, including Gourmet Makes, in which she created gourmet versions of popular snack foods by reverse engineering them. Since leaving the company, she has published two cookbooks, Dessert Person and What's for Dessert, which both became New York Times Best Sellers. She has continued work as a video host on her own YouTube channel and as a freelance recipe developer, including for New York Times Cooking.

Morgana Gwendolyn Ignis is an American actress and writer. She starred as Claire Atlas in the webseries Class Acts, as Fay in Dracula’s Ex-Girlfriend, and voices Sallie May on the animated series Helluva Boss.

References

  1. Jarvey, Natalie (July 29, 2018). "Netflix Orders Instagram-Inspired Baking Show 'The Curious Creations of Christine McConnell'". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved January 5, 2019.
  2. Collis, Clark (April 2, 2019). "There will be no season 2 for The Curious Creations of Christine McConnell". Entertainment Weekly . Retrieved April 3, 2019.
  3. 1 2 3 Foutch, Haleigh (October 25, 2018). "'The Curious Creations of Christine McConnell' Is the Goth Puppet Cooking Show of Your Dreams". Collider . Retrieved January 5, 2019.
  4. Francisco, Eric (October 29, 2018). "How a Halloween Martha Stewart Found Reddit Fame and Charmed Netflix". Inverse . Retrieved January 5, 2019.
  5. 1 2 3 Rosner, Helen (October 24, 2018). "'The Curious Creations of Christine McConnell' Is Martha Stewart Meets Tim Burton". The New Yorker . Retrieved October 30, 2018.
  6. McConnell, Christine [@christinehmcconnell] (October 21, 2018). "I shot this using my actual fridge... It's a General Electric and has been running non-stop since 1955 😧". Archived from the original on December 24, 2021. Retrieved November 21, 2018 via Instagram.
  7. 1 2 3 Wharton, David (October 15, 2018). "'The Curious Creations of Christine McConnell' defies explanation—in a good way". The Daily Dot . Retrieved January 5, 2019.
  8. 1 2 Silver, Marc (October 28, 2018). "'The Curious Creations of Christine McConnell' is the perfect show for a creepy Halloween binge". The Washington Post . Retrieved January 5, 2019.
  9. Stefansky, Emma (October 17, 2018). "Netflix's 'The Curious Creations of Christine McConnell' Is a Perfectly Creepy Cooking Show". Thrillist . Retrieved November 23, 2018.
  10. Lawler, Kelly (December 15, 2018). "The 5 best baking TV shows to binge-watch this weekend to inspire you for the holidays". USA Today . Retrieved January 5, 2019.