Saying Goodbye to Padma Lakshmi, the Secret Ingredient of ‘Top Chef’

With “The Bear” doing gangbusters over at Hulu, all eyes are on Christopher Storer and what he might do next. Well, it appears he’s ready to trade in his stories about chefs for a new story about a hitman in the upcoming film, “The Winter of Frankie Machine.”  According to Deadline, Christopher Storer has signed on to direct a new crime drama, “The Winter of Frankie Machine,” which is based on the novel by Don Winslow.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Christopher Storer is no slouch when it comes to orchestrating kitchen chaos, having created the hit Hulu comedy-drama “The Bear.” Now, he’ll turn his camera on “The Winter of Frankie Machine” and trade trades the tense world of short-order cooking for a mob story about a hitman who is lured out of retirement to set up a meeting between waring crime families only to turn into a target himself. It’s a mean streets saga that previously attracted attention from the likes of Martin Scorsese, who was set to make it at Paramount Pictures with Robert De Niro, only to abandon it in favor of “The Irishman”; as well as Michael Mann and William Friedkin.

EXCLUSIVE: As his series creation The Bear turned in record Season Two ratings for Hulu, Christopher Storer is set to direct at Paramount Pictures The Winter of Frankie Machine, an adaptation of the 2006 Don Winslow novel. The film will be produced by Shane Salerno and The Story Factory, and Storer will use the Brian Koppelman & David Levien draft those writers did when Martin Scorsese was going to direct Robert De Niro in the lead role.

SPOILER ALERT! This post contains details from the series finale of The CW’s Gotham Knights.

Nicola Coughlan is dropping more teasers about the upcoming season of Bridgerton.

#MissionImpossible – Dead Reckoning Part 1 is fantastic. Dynamite, timely story. Excellent new characters.

Christopher Vourlias Iranian filmmaker Dornaz Hajiha took home the top prize Saturday at the Transilvania Film Festival, as the jury awarded the first-time director with the Transilvania Trophy for “Like a Fish on the Moon,” a moving family drama about two parents coping with the emotional fallout when their young son suddenly stops talking. In the jury’s citation, Mexican filmmaker Michel Franco highlighted “the originality of its premise, the power of its performances, and the intelligence with which it explored very difficult subject matter,” describing “Like a Fish on the Moon” as “a film that resonated long after it ended.” Hajiha was visibly moved as she took the stage to accept the award, which was presented to her by Transilvania Lifetime Achievement Award winner Geoffrey Rush moments after the Australian actor delivered an impassioned and at times whimsical tribute to the power of cinema.

Charna Flam This year’s Critics Choice Real TV Awards honored shows “RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars,” “Top Chef,” and “Taste the Nation with Padma Lakshmi,” with each series taking home two awards. All three shows won in the Best Show Host category, as RuPaul tied with Padma Lakshmi for both “Taste the Nation” and “Top Chef.” “RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars” took home the award for best ensemble cast in an unscripted series, while “Taste the Nation with Padma Lakshmi” was awarded best structured series and “Top Chef” won best culinary show. The annual event continues to recognize excellence in nonfiction, unscripted and reality programming across broadcast, cable and streaming platforms.

Padma Lakshmi is opening up about preparing for her photoshoot for the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition.

Paramount+ spinoff RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars, Hulu’s Taste the Nation with Padma Lakshmi and Bravo veteran Top Chef led the field with two wins apiece at the fifth annual Critics Choice Real TV Awards, which were revealed today.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor In the past few years, Hollywood has taken great strides to increase AAPI representation on screen, with a record number of Asians landing Emmy nominations and wins, from Sandra Oh’s recognition for “Killing Eve” to “Squid Game” picking up six trophies, including Lee Jung-jae for best actor in a drama series. This awards season, more AAPI actors fight for history-making nominations, including Ali Wong for “Beef” and the ensemble cast of “Yellowjackets.” Former nominees contending again this year are “Saturday Night Live’s” Bowen Yang and “Ted Lasso’s” Nick Mohammed.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer SPOILER ALERT: This interview contains spoilers from the Season 20 finale of Bravo’s “Top Chef.” Buddha Lo became the first ever “Top Chef: World All-Stars” winner Thursday, beating out his finale competition Sara Bradley and Gabri Rodriguez in the Paris-set “Top Chef” Season 20 finale. But Lo’s win was historic beyond that special 20th anniversary season achievement, as he became the first “Top Chef” contestant to ever win two seasons back to back, having claimed victory in Season 19, “Top Chef: Houston.” Adding another layer of prestige, Lo has the honor of being the final contestant to be declared winner by Padma Lakshmi before she exits the cooking competition after 19 seasons as host.

Former “Top Chef” host Padma Lakshmi appeared on “Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace?” this week on Max to reflect on her 17 years hosting the cooking show.Wallace asked Lakshmi about the contestants and the intense conditions they perform under, from heat to crowdedness, and she of course added knives and fire.“You gotta be kind of a mad genius don’t you?” Wallace asked.“To a certain extent, yes, there is a personality type, and it’s not always the best chef that wins ‘Top Chef,’ it’s the guy or the woman who did the best that day,” Lakshmi said. “Sort of like the best team not necessarily wins the World Series, right? So it’s very compelling to watch.

pic.twitter.com/3h9WcVhpAuIn an interview with CNN’s Chris Wallace that aired earlier Thursday, Lakshmi reflected on her time at “Top Chef” and pinpointed what exactly the secret sauce is that makes the reality cooking show so popular and sustainable. “I think it’s because of the contestants,” she said. “I think they’re the real stars of our show.

Netflix has released a new trailer for The Witcher season three!

Gail Simmons is sharing her thoughts on Padma Lakshmi‘s decision to exit Top Chef.

Padma Lakshmi announced Friday she was leaving after 17 years following the current season, surprising fans of the beloved Bravo cooking competition series.The 52-year-old food expert and author, whose name has become synonymous with the Emmy-winning program, shared in an emotional message on social media that she came to the «difficult decision» to exit after «much soul searching.» Lakshmi's surprise announcement comes just one week before the finale of season 20,, is set to air. «Having completed a glorious 20th season as host and executive producer,» she wrote, «I am extremely proud to have been part of building such a successful show and of the impact it has had in the worlds of television and food.»But what some fans may not know is Lakshmi, who hosts Hulu's food travel series , wasn't with the cooking competition show when it debuted in March 2006. The TV personality replaced cookbook author and food critic Katie Lee, who lasted only one season as host, in the sophomore cycle — and the rest is history. According to 's oral history of , which was published in May, Lakshmi had actually met with executives at NBCUniversal before the cooking competition show even premiered, pitching a dinner party series.

Padma Lakshmi announced Friday she was leaving after 17 years following the current season, surprising fans of the beloved Bravo cooking competition series.The 52-year-old food expert and author, whose name has become synonymous with the Emmy-winning program, shared in an emotional message on social media that she came to the «difficult decision» to exit after «much soul searching.» Lakshmi's surprise announcement comes just one week before the finale of season 20,, is set to air. «Having completed a glorious 20th season as host and executive producer,» she wrote, «I am extremely proud to have been part of building such a successful show and of the impact it has had in the worlds of television and food.»But what some fans may not know is Lakshmi, who hosts Hulu's food travel series , wasn't with the cooking competition show when it debuted in March 2006. The TV personality replaced cookbook author and food critic Katie Lee, who lasted only one season as host, in the sophomore cycle — and the rest is history. According to 's oral history of , which was published in May, Lakshmi had actually met with executives at NBCUniversal before the cooking competition show even premiered, pitching a dinner party series.

A post shared by Padma Lakshmi (@padmalakshmi)Following the annoucement, a NBCUniversal spokesperson told People magazine: "Padma Lakshmi leaves behind an incredible legacy on Bravo's Top Chef. Her impact on the Emmy, James Beard and Critics' Choice Award-winning series is undeniable.  We are grateful to Padma for being a consummate host, judge and executive producer, and for bringing her ingenuity and exceptional palate to each episode where she ate every bite of food on the series for over 17 years and 19 seasons.  She will always be part of the Top Chef and the NBCUniversal family and has a seat at the judges' table anytime."  On the heels of the Instagram post, many of Padma's celebrity pals weighed in. "End of an era and an incredible run.

After nearly two decades, Padma Lakshmi is hanging up her chef hat as she announces her departure from NBC’s “Top Chef”.