Worst Cooks in America Premieres First Season Without Anne Burrell, 6 Months After the Chef’s Death

The 30th season of Worst Cooks in America, and the first without Anne Burrell, aired this weekend.

Worst Cooks in America: Reality Check premiered on Sunday, Jan. 4, with celebrity chefs Jeff Mauro and Tiffany Derry at the helm of the series. This new season marks the first following the death of Burrell, the show’s former longtime host, who died at the age of 55 in June.

Season 30’s contestants come from far and wide, originating from reality TV, music, sports and pop culture. Competing this season are Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star Lisa Barlow, TV personality Downtown Julie Brown, Dancing with the Stars pro Val Chmerkovskiy, Shahs of Sunset alum Reza Farahan, Love & Hip Hop: Miami standout Amara La Negra, Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte, RuPaul’s Drag Race legend Manila Luzon, rapper and actor Romeo Miller, 7th Heaven’s Beverley Mitchell and The Challenge powerhouse CT Tamburello.

Each reality star is assigned to one of the co-hosts, and they will each be eliminated until one contestant is crowned champion, earning $25,000 for the charity of their choice.

Burrell’s last season hosting Worst Cooks in America aired on July 28 — six weeks after the chef died, and four days after her death was ruled a suicide. That season, called Worst Cooks in America: Talented and Terrible, starred Burrell and first-time co-host Gabe Bertaccini.

A special-edition season, season 28 called Celebrity Edition: Heroes vs. Villains, was hosted by Antonia Lofaso and Jeff Mauro.

Worst Cooks paid tribute to Burrell during the show’s season 29 premiere, with an ending card that read, “In Memoriam. Anne Burrell. 1969 – 2025.”

Burrell died on the morning of June 17 at her home in Brooklyn, N.Y. Reps for the star announced her death in a release obtained by PEOPLE.

PEOPLE confirmed five weeks later that Burrell’s cause of death was specified as an “acute intoxication due to the combined effects of diphenhydramine, ethanol, cetirizine, and amphetamine. It was determined by the New York City Medical Examiner’s Office. 

Diphenhydramine and cetirizine are antihistamines, while ethanol is a compound found in alcohol. Amphetamine is commonly used to treat ADHD.

Worst Cooks in America: Reality Check premiered at 8 p.m. EST / PST on Food Network on Jan. 4. It will stream the following day on HBO Max.