Television superstars Martha Stewart and Emeril Lagasse have officially entered the free streaming TV arena.
The Roku Channel, which is one of the top free streaming TV services on the market, has announced that it will be producing original content starring the popular TV personalities. Oh, and celebrity chef Christopher Kimball is involved, too!
And, best of all, this new content will be free! No subscriptions needed.
Let’s take a look at the exciting details of this announcement.
The Roku Channel Will Feature New Martha Stewart, Emeril Lagasse Shows
In partnership with Marquee Brands and Milk Street Studios, Roku announced plans to produce seven new original series starring Martha Stewart, Emeril Lagasse and Christopher Kimball.
These projects will be free to all consumers via The Roku Channel, which is available to stream online here whether users have a Roku streaming device or not.
“We are thrilled to bring our viewers this standout content from culinary and cultural powerhouses Martha Stewart, Emeril Lagasse and Chris Kimball — for free,” Rob Holmes, Roku’s VP of programming, said according to Variety. “These exciting first-of-their-kind partnerships for Roku with Marquee Brands and Milk Street Studios, showcase our unique ability to drive value across the streaming ecosystem.”
The projects are expected to start airing on The Roku Channel within the next year.
Here’s a rundown of the working titles and show descriptions for each Roku-exclusive project the stars will be working on.
Martha Stewart
- Martha Cooks: “Lifestyle icon Martha Stewart cooks 100 of her favorite recipes, working with world-renowned chefs and dear friends, all from her home kitchen in Bedford, New York.”
- Martha Holidays: “Martha Stewart is your host for everything holiday! From festive family dishes and dazzling desserts, from decorating tips to thoughtful gift ideas, Martha will share her secrets for a successful and joyous holiday season.”
- Martha Gardens: “Martha Stewart is a passionate gardener and cultivator of plants and vegetables. Over the course of a year in the life of her incredible 153-acre farm, Martha will share the tips, tricks and tools that gardeners of all skill levels need to be successful — and have fun.”
Emeril Lagasse
- Emeril Cooks: “Famous for bringing his creative take on Creole and Cajun cuisine to the masses, celebrity chef, author and restauranteur Emeril Lagasse is excited to be back with some of his favorite recipes. Emeril Cooks will fuse the rich traditions of New Orleans cuisine with brand new dishes and techniques inspired by Emeril’s renowned restaurant menus and line of cookbooks.”
- Emeril Tailgates: “Whether you’re in the parking lot or the living room, no game is complete without the food and drinks you share with family and friends. Chef and grill master Emeril Lagasse will add his signature ‘kick’ to regionally specific dishes inspired by popular tailgate fare from across the country, from Buffalo wings to Kansas City BBQ.”
Christopher Kimball
- Milk Street’s Cooking School: “Christopher Kimball brings Milk Street’s Cooking School to The Roku Channel. With appealing, approachable recipes from around the world, Kimball and his team of experts seek to inspire home cooks to try new techniques, ingredients, and tools that will make them more confident, more successful and more excited to get in the kitchen.”
- Milk Street’s My Family Recipe: “Few things evoke such emotion as food shared with family. With a combination of historical context and modern culinary know-how, Christopher Kimball and James Beard Award Winner Cheryl Day will help home cooks recreate lost or forgotten cherished family recipes. My Family Recipe is more than a cooking show — it’s a show about history, community, family, and memories, and how food ties it all together.”
Legacy Content From Martha Stewart, Emeril Lagasse Will Be Free To Stream
While you’re waiting for the new original series to appear on The Roku Channel, you’ll be able to watch hours upon hours of legacy content from these TV stars.
As a part of this agreement, The Roku Channel will feature past seasons of popular shows featuring Stewart, Lagasse and Kimball.
According to Variety, full episodes and complete seasons of the following shows will be available for free on The Roku Channel.
• Martha Bakes (Seasons 1-11)
• Martha Stewart’s Cooking School (Seasons 1-5)
• Martha Stewart Living (Seasons 1-11)
• Essence of Emeril (Seasons 1-11)
• Emeril Live (Seasons 1-19)
• Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street Television (Seasons 1-5)
It also is expected that The Roku Channel will create live TV streaming channels featuring the content from the trio. This would presumably function similarly to existing channels like “The Johnny Carson Channel” and “Family Feud Channel” that air very specific types of content. These channels simulate an “old-school” television viewing feel with traditional commercial breaks as opposed to the on-demand functionality of the rest of the app.
Dates for when this content will be available on The Roku Channel are not clear, but while writing this story I did verify that it’s not yet available for streamers.
This Announcement Affects the Future of Streaming TV
Money expert Clark Howard has been a vocal supporter of free streaming TV services such as The Roku Channel as an alternative to expensive streaming subscriptions for services like YouTube TV and Netflix.
“The hottest thing in streaming right now is free streaming products,” Clark says. “There are tons of them. And it seems like there are new ones all the time. You’re able to watch a ton of content at no cost.”
And this investment by Roku is just the next step in free streaming TV gaining exposure to audiences that previously dismissed it because of dated or uninteresting content.
Roku bought original content rights from failed streaming service Quibi in 2021, and Amazon recently upped its commitment to original content on its free streaming TV service Freevee, which is the new name of IMDb TV.
These investments are a potential signal that we’re on the verge of witnessing a convergence between the viability of producing ad-supported streaming and consumers pushing back on the growing costs of ad-free streaming subscriptions.
As more original content is made available via free streams, we may be witnessing a change in the way that streaming TV content is consumed.
Clark says that you should consider making the switch to free streaming TV as the content menus improve, especially with the economic conditions we’re experiencing.
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