Fox has announced it has ordered a second season of Kitchen Nightmares, a reality series that follows sharp-tongued British Hell's Kitchen chef Gordon Ramsay as he travels across America and helps restaurants in crisis.

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Although it hasn't delivered huge ratings, Kitchen Nightmares first season, which currently airs Wednesdays at 9PM ET/PT, has grown its ratings since it premiered on September 19, building by 18% among average total viewers as well as 20% in the Adults 18-49 demographic over the past few weeks.

According to Mike Darnell, Fox's recently-promoted president of alternative entertainment, Kitchen Nightmares' ability to deliver decent numbers in what has arguably become the most competitive hour in broadcast television -- CBS' Criminal Minds hit series, ABC's Private Practice spinoff of its Grey's Anatomy hit, NBC's new Bionic Woman remake, and The CW's new Gossip Girl teen soap all also air in the same time period -- played a factor in the network's decision to order 10 additional second-season episodes of the show.

"To be doing well and moving up on that night and against that competition is nothing short of miraculous," Darnell told Daily Variety.  "I think this show is going to be on this network for a long time."

While Variety reported Kitchen Nightmares' second season is schedule to premiere "sometime next year," Fox has yet to formally announce when it will debut. 

According to the show's Fox publicist, the network also isn't ready to announce whether Kitchen Nightmares  -- which is currently halfway through its 10-episode first-season run -- will remain on the air and broadcast repeats once its five remaining first-season episodes air, or go on hiatus until the debut of its second-season episodes.

In addition, Variety also reported Fox is currently keeping Ramsay busy with two additional projects -- the back-to-back production of two new Hell's Kitchen installments.

Similar to its Kitchen Nightmares plans, how Fox plans to schedule the new Hell's Kitchen editions (producing a late 2007 fifth edition that, based on the show's previous summer broadcasting schedule, would sit on the shelf until Summer 2009 seems unlikely) also remains unknown. 

Fox had previously announced that it had renewed Hell's Kitchen for a fourth season that would air in 2008 back in July, and the show's Fox publicist confirmed that the edition is still "slated to air in Summer 2008" when reached by Reality TV World on Thursday.  Fox plans to announce additional details about Hell's Kitchen's fifth edition "shortly," according to the publicist.
About The Author: Christopher Rocchio

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