Kitchen Nightmares

Production

The show was produced by ITV Studios America and Optomen, in association with A. Smith & Co. Productions, with Arthur Smith, Kent Weed and Patricia Llewellyn serving as executive producers.

In the UK, the series is broadcast under the name Kitchen Nightmares USA and Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares USA on Channel 4, which also produced the original UK version. Reruns, along with the British series, are frequently shown on BBC America.

Season 1: 2007

The first season focused on restaurants in the southern California and New York City areas.

Season 2: 2008–09

Season two included episodes in the upper-midwestern United States as well as New York and California.

Season 3: 2010

The third season was originally scheduled to premiere on Wednesday, January 27, 2010, but it was postponed to Friday, January 29, 2010, due to the State of the Union address.

Season 4: 2011

In May 2010, the Fox network announced the return of Kitchen Nightmares for a fourth season. The fourth season aired from January 21, 2011 to May 20, 2011 on Fox.

Season 5: 2011–12

In March 2011 the producers of the show announced a casting call for a fifth season. The fifth season premiered on Friday, September 23, 2011 and ended on March 30, 2012.

Season 6: 2012–13

In February 2012 the Fox network announced it renewed Kitchen Nightmares for a sixth season, which premiered on Friday, October 26, 2012.

Season 7: 2014

Season 7 was originally set to premiere on February 28, 2014, but was delayed until April 11, 2014.

Lawsuit

In September 2007, a case was filed by Martin Hyde, the former general manager of Dillon's, against Ramsay for allegedly staging disasters and hiring actors to trick the viewing audience. The case was dismissed and went into arbitration.

Reception

Ginia Bellafante of the New York Times found Ramsay's teaching methods and high standards "undeniably hypnotic" and commented that "the thrill of watching Mr. Ramsay is in witnessing someone so at peace with his own arrogance." Doug Elfman of the Chicago Sun-Times said the show is "a very entertaining public service" that "will make you laugh, make you sick and make you think". Randy Cordova of the Arizona Republic found Ramsay "just as blustery and foul-mouthed here as he is on Hell's Kitchen. But he is also oddly endearing, mainly because he genuinely seems invested in the fate of each restaurant".

Critics have commented that Fox's adaptation of Kitchen Nightmares strayed from the strengths of the original Channel 4 series. Maureen Ryan of the Chicago Tribune said, "Leave it to Fox to take something the Brits did pretty well and muck it up". She added, "Never mind the cooking; this edition of the show appears to be more interested in playing up the family dramas at the restaurants Ramsay visits". Robert Lloyd of the Los Angeles Times commented, "Whereas the British Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares is fundamentally a food show — it has interesting things to show you about how a restaurant runs and a kitchen works, the wonders of local markets and what you can make from them if you're Gordon Ramsay or willing to follow his instructions — the Fox edition emphasizes mishap, argument and emotional breakdown almost to the exclusion of cuisine".