Here's why MasterChef season 13 isn't on tonight, July 26

Contestant with host/judge Gordon Ramsay and special guest Daphne Oz in the “Regional Auditions - The Northeast” season premiere episode of MasterChef
(Image credit: Fox)

Gordon Ramsay fans tuning into Fox on Wednesday, July 26, might be surprised to find that MasterChef season 13 and Gordon Ramsay’s Food Stars are both missing from the programming lineup for the night. But don’t worry — they’ll both be back soon!

On July 26, Fox will air live coverage of the FIFA Women’s World Cup match between the United States and Netherlands at 9 pm ET/6 pm PT. Upon conclusion of the match, there will be postgame coverage followed by local news, meaning that there’s no room for Fox’s regularly scheduled programming. 

Fear not, though, as MasterChef season 13 and Gordon Ramsay’s Food Stars will both be back on Wednesday, August 2, with brand new episodes at their regularly scheduled time. 

Here’s the episode description of the next new episode of MasterChef, titled “Birds of a Feather Mystery Box”: “The top 17 home chefs return to the kitchen for their second mystery box challenge, but this time with a twist -- one region begins the challenge 10 minutes behind the rest.”

And here’s what you can expect on the newest episode of Gordon Ramsay’s Food Stars, titled “As Seen On TV”: “The remaining six contestants split into teams to take on a live TV challenge where they sell kitchen products; guest judge Alberti Popaj.”

It’s not unusual for networks to push new episodes of shows back a week or two during the season. Not only do they need to accommodate sporting events like FIFA Women’s World Cup and, in Fox’s case, the World Series, but there are often political events like the State of the Union address or presidential debates that take over regularly scheduled programming. 

It’s unfortunate for fans hoping to see what happens next on their favorite shows, but the upside is that it helps to extend the season and make the new episodes last a little longer. 

There will be another double dose of Gordon Ramsay in the Fox fall TV lineup with Kitchen Nightmares season 8 and Hell’s Kitchen season 22. He’ll also be back in early 2024 with Next Level Chef season 3

For now, if you find yourself missing Gordon Ramsay this week you can catch earlier episodes of all these shows right now on Hulu

Sarabeth Pollock
Editorial Content Producer

 

Sarabeth joined the What to Watch team in May 2022. An avid TV and movie fan, her perennial favorites are The Walking Dead, American Horror Story, true crime documentaries on Netflix and anything from Passionflix. You’ve Got Mail, Ocean's Eleven and Signs are movies that she can watch all day long. She's also a huge baseball fan, and hockey is a new favorite.  

When she's not working, Sarabeth hosts the My Nights Are Booked Podcast and a blog dedicated to books and interviews with authors and actors. She also published her first novel, Once Upon an Interview, in 2022.