The modernization of classic titles has often yielded some pretty excellent results (seriously, “Tweet me, @Ishmael” gets me every time), and now, the punniness has reached a new peak with a brand new show: 12 Hungry Yelpers. Sure to be just as enjoyable (or at least, half as amusing) as the classic 1950s film, 12 Angry Men, the new series is a true sign of our times, and will feature some of Yelp’s most acerbic and perhaps acrimonious reviews in order to help restaurants fix their issues.
Taking advantage of the particularly crotchety denizens of the online review website, the Food Network, the station known for its celebrity chefs and cooking competitions, is now turning the reins over to the people — or at least, to the Yelpers. As GrubStreet points out, the show will basically turn Jimmy Kimmel’s “Mean Tweets” segment into a full-fledged show. Which really sounds like my dream come true.
The plot seems a bit like Gordon Ramsey’s “Kitchen Nightmares,” with chefs and owners of some of Yelp’s worst reviewed restaurants forced to come to terms with their patrons’ dissatisfaction and find ways to assuage their concerns. All will be presided over by Monti Carlo, a finalist from MasterChef, season three.
“12 Hungry Yelpers is a funny new show we’re doing in partnership with Yelp Inc.,” Kathleen Finch, programming chief for Food Network’s parent company Scripps, said in a statement. “You go into a restaurant and give it a Yelp review and then always wonder if the proprietor ever reads them.”
It’s all part of a plan, Finch says, to “grow [the] Millennial audience,” finding ways to tap into social media and take advantage of large social followings. And in all honesty, Yelp is nothing if not a vast social network where all the complainers of the world have managed to assemble in order to air their grievances.
So get excited, friends. Soon, you’ll be able to see Yelp reviews like these come to life.
