This week’s episode of Undercover Billionaire: Comeback City might feel like deja vu to anyone who enjoys the business-reality TV genre. That’s because the series is getting into the restaurant business.
In “Married to It,” Glenn Stearns comes to the aid of a couple running an Italian diner and Erie, PA landmark in danger of closing its doors. Glenn brings in Food Network star Cat Cora to assist him, and Undercover Billionaire alum Dawn van Scoter makes a welcome appearance to give the restaurant a much-needed new appearance.
This isn’t a bad episode; it’s just, unfortunately, the show’s least interesting because it traverses common ground we’ve seen before on Kitchen Nightmares, Gordon Ramsay’s 24 Hours to Hell and Back, and Restaurant: Impossible. The menu is too big. The restaurant is dated. The management structure is broken. If you’ve watched any of the aforementioned shows over the last decade, you know what Glenn is going to encounter, and you know how it’s going to get fixed.
Also, because this isn’t any of those other shows, there are aspects that Comeback City doesn’t address that longtime TV viewers may be looking for. Cora doesn’t do a thorough examination of the kitchen (at least that we get to see). Her one point in regards to cleanliness is telling the co-owner to organize the freezer, and you can just imagine Gordon Ramsay or Robert Irvine cringing at the fact that there’s so many frozen products to begin with.
It’s wonderful to see Dawn van Scoter, though, as it’s always fun when Glenn is able to bring in some of the other personalities we met during the first season of Undercover Billionaire. They’re good people and the additional spotlight is well deserved. Glenn continues to be an excellent host, too, and turns sort of psuedo-marriage counselor (much to his chagrin) during the episode. He’s definitely become a TV personality with the success of the first season, and that absolutely works for him.
While the specific plotline isn’t anything new, Undercover Billionaire: Comeback City continues to be a hidden gem. Hopefully Discovery will start promoting its linear airings more and not just keep pushing people toward Discovery+, because the more people who are aware that it’s airing on Thursdays, the bigger its fan base will be. This is the kind of show that could easily become wildly popular and a staple of the network for years to come.
Undercover Billionaire: Comeback City airs Thursdays at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT on Discovery. The complete season 1 is also now streaming on Discovery+.
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