Since this show is filmed near where I live, and because the bakery’s coconut cupcakes are so heavenly, that not a week goes by that I don’t crave one, I really wanted to like the show DC CUPCAKES on TLC. Really. I really did. But…and here’s the but…as someone who generally views reality shows as robbers of jobs for writers of scripted shows, the show has to be stellar on all fronts to be impressive. Unfortunately, DC CUPCAKES is not impressive.
The sisters who own a bakery in the trendy Georgetown section of DC LOVE baking, they LOVE each other, they LOVE their mother, they LOVE charities, they basically LOVE everything. Regrettably, the show can’t sustain on love alone primarily because the sisters really have no television presence. The interviews seem incredibly flat, as if they are reading from a cue card, and the “conflicts”, for instance having to fulfill a charity order at the very last minute, seem overly rehearsed and incredibly inauthentic. Even the staged guy outside asking about the line. Really? That was absolutely necessary? Totally unreal. That’s it. There is little authenticity to this installment and in a reality market saturated with pastry shows – the best still remains ACE OF CAKES on the Food Network (nobody comes close to the charm and individuality of Geof Manthorne who’s head to head with the show’s host Duff Goldman for most interesting) – the competition is fierce in its demands for a genuine, or at least appearing genuine, television personality.
But I still highly recommend the coconut cupcakes. Delicious.