Academy Award(R)-Winner Octavia Spencer Celebrates Her Southern Roots and Showcases Outstanding Home Cooks in New Series "Family Recipe Showdown"

Eight-Episode Series Premieres Thursday, July 17th at 9pm ET/PT on Food Network and Streaming Next Day on HBO Max

Academy Award(R)-winning actress Octavia Spencer returns to her Southern roots this summer in the new home cooking competition Family Recipe Showdown. Set in New Orleans, Octavia serves as the host of the series which also features Southern cooking royalty Edgar "Dook" Chase as the resident expert. Each episode welcomes family duos to the kitchen as they prepare their most cherished recipes for a $10,000 prize. Together, Octavia and Dook sample the dishes before being joined in the final round by a rotating panel of guest judges and Octavia's celebrity friends - including Reese Witherspoon, Jessica Chastain, Danielle Brooks, Eric Stonestreet, Tina Knowles, Kandi Burruss, Tim Gunn, and Al Roker with his daughter Leila. Family Recipe Showdown premieres Thursday, July 17th at 9pm ET/PT on Food Network and streams the next day on HBO Max.

"Southern food means family to me, and I am thrilled to introduce these outstanding home cooks to viewers," said Spencer. "The competing families bring their own traditions to every dish - from buttery biscuits to cast-iron skillet specialties, the food took me and my friends back to our childhoods with every bite... and getting to taste it all with Dook Chase made the experience even sweeter. This show is about family, friends and food - there's nothing better than that."

Each episode features two rounds of culinary throwdowns with themes from a Southern brunch with all the fixings to a top-notch biscuit bakeoff, and three teams of home cooks must impress Octavia and Dook to advance to the final round. The two duos that move on to the second showdown are tasked with putting their own delicious spin on a family favorite recipe of the episode's guest judge. Each week, only one family takes home the win and $10,000 prize. In the series premiere, Octavia and Dook open the kitchen to three teams of Southern families for a down-home showdown. In the first round, an aunt and niece, mother-in-law and son-in-law and wife duo serve up their best Southern brunch. In the second round, the final two teams put their own spin on one of guest judge Reese Witherspoon's childhood favorites. Ultimately, only one team has what it takes to impress the judges and take home the $10,000 prize.

"Octavia is truly passionate about Southern food and the home cooks that tell family stories through their recipes," said Betsy Ayala, Head of Content, Food, Warner Bros. Discovery. "She is the perfect host to welcome these families and their incredible dishes to the table and spotlight the love and care that goes into their cooking. Our viewers can also look forward to visits from Octavia's fantastic friends, who delight in the food just as much as she does."

"Octavia and Dook are a match made in culinary television heaven," said Sara Rea, Head of Unscripted at Hello Sunshine. "Dook is a world-renowned chef, and Octavia is a self-proclaimed 'excellent taster.' These two together, along with the celebrity guests and families competing with their most prized traditional recipes, are the perfect combination for a funny, family-friendly show with great southern cooking!"

Fans can get more exclusive content on Food Network's social channels using #FamilyRecipeShowdown. Viewers can also visit FoodNetwork.com for Family Recipe Showdown news, plus more information about the hosts and celebrity guest stars.

Family Recipe Showdown is produced by Hello Sunshine and Orit Entertainment for Food Network. Executive producers include Reese Witherspoon, Sara Rea and Lauren Neustadter on behalf of Hello Sunshine. Octavia Spencer, Brian Clisham and Stephanie Kluft on behalf of Orit. Brielle Lebsack Cohen serves as showrunner, and Joe Guidry directed the series.

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FOOD NETWORK (www.foodnetwork.com) is a unique lifestyle network, website and magazine that connects viewers to the power and joy of food. The network strives to be viewers' best friend in food and is committed to leading by teaching, inspiring, empowering and entertaining through its talent and expertise. Food Network is distributed to more than 74 million U.S. households and draws an average of 50 million unique web users monthly with a social footprint of 71 million, while Food Network Magazine reaches 11 million readers. Food Network is part of Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ: WBD), a leading global media and entertainment company that creates and distributes the world's most differentiated and complete portfolio of content and brands across television, film and streaming. Available in more than 220 countries and territories and 50 languages, Warner Bros. Discovery inspires, informs and entertains audiences worldwide through its iconic brands and products which also include: Discovery Channel, Max, discovery+, CNN, DC, Eurosport, HBO, HBO Max, HGTV, OWN, Investigation Discovery, TLC, Magnolia Network, TNT, TBS, truTV, Travel Channel, MotorTrend, Animal Planet, Science Channel, Warner Bros. Film Group, Warner Bros. Television Group, Warner Bros. Games, New Line Cinema, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, Turner Classic Movies, Discovery en Español, Hogar de HGTV and others. For more information, please visit www.wbd.com.

About Hello Sunshine

Founded by Reese Witherspoon, Hello Sunshine puts women at the center of every story it creates, celebrates and discovers. Hello Sunshine tells stories across all platforms - from scripted and unscripted television, feature films, animated series, podcasts, audio storytelling, and digital series - all shining a light on where women are now and helping them chart a new path forward. Hello Sunshine is also home to Reese's Book Club. Fast growing in reach and influence, this community is propelled by meaningful connections with stories, authors, and fellow members.

Hello Sunshine is part of Candle Media, an independent, creator-friendly home for cutting-edge, high-quality, category-defining brands and franchises. By bringing together elite talent operating at the intersection of content, community, and commerce, it helps to position leading entertainment businesses for accelerated, sustainable growth in the current market and beyond. Candle is run by its Co-Chairmen and Co-CEOs, leading entertainment executives Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs, and backed by investment capital from funds managed by Blackstone's flagship private equity business.

About Orit

In 2019, Octavia Spencer launched her production company, Orit Entertainment, which she runs with partner and producer, Brian Clisham, and Head of Production and Development, Stephanie Kluft. Projects under the Orit Entertainment banner include the upcoming action-adventure series, Ride or Die for Amazon, and the scripted series Truth Be Told and Self-Made: Inspired by The Life of Madam C.J. Walker. In 2023, Orit premiered two docuseries, Lost Women of Highway 20 and Feds, as part of their partnership with ID and October Films. Both series were renewed for a second season.