Laughter Chefs Season 3 premiere draws backlash as new cast, chaotic format spark viewer outrage

When Bharti Singh stepped onto the set of Laughter Chefs Season 3Colors TV on November 22, 2025, viewers didn’t just see a host—they saw a pregnant woman holding a spatula with a grin that said, ‘I’ve seen chaos, and I’m still here.’ The premiere of the comedy cooking show, now streaming on JioHotstar and OTTplay Premium, was meant to be a nostalgic return to kitchen chaos. Instead, it became a lightning rod for criticism. Fans didn’t just tune in—they took to social media demanding that Vivian Dsena and Isha Malviya be removed from the cast. Within hours of the episode airing, #ReplaceVivianDsena trended on X. The twist? The show’s formula hasn’t changed. It’s the execution that’s broken.

Back to the Kitchen, But With Less Laughter

Laughter Chefs was never about Michelin stars. It was about watching celebrities burn toast, cry over burnt garlic, and dance on a whistling pressure cooker like it was a dance floor at a wedding. Season 1 thrived because the humor felt accidental—like catching someone slipping on a banana peel you didn’t know was there. Season 2 kept the vibe alive. But Season 3? It feels rehearsed. The Indian Express noted that the gags “fall flat,” the punchlines “feel forced,” and contestants often laugh on cue, as if their paychecks depend on it. That’s not comedy. That’s performance under pressure.

New Faces, Old Problems

The new cast brought a mix of reality TV veterans and familiar faces. Tejasswi Prakash and Gurmeet Choudhary, former co-stars on Pati Patni Aur Panga, returned to the same network, now replaced by Laughter Chefs. Their chemistry was expected to be a highlight. But instead, viewers zeroed in on Gurmeet Choudhary’s supposed 17-year clean-eating diet—and whether he’d break it for a crispy samosa. The drama was manufactured. And it didn’t land.

Vivian Dsena and Isha Malviya became the lightning rods. Netizens called their performances “over-the-top,” “cringe,” and “painful to watch.” One comment summed it up: “I didn’t sign up for a soap opera with a stove.” Meanwhile, returning champions Karan Kundrra and Elvish Yadav were praised for bringing some of the show’s old magic—until they were drowned out by louder, less authentic energy.

Team Churi vs. Team Kaanta: A Formula That Doesn’t Fit

This season introduced a new twist: two teams. Team Churi (knife) and Team Kaanta (fork). The idea? More competition. More drama. More content. But here’s the problem—Laughter Chefs never needed teams. It thrived on individual absurdity. Pairing contestants into factions turned the kitchen into a reality TV battleground, complete with manufactured alliances and sudden betrayals. The result? Less laughter, more tension. The show’s heart—its messy, unscripted chaos—is being replaced by plotlines that feel lifted from a soap opera.

What’s Lost in the Translation

The Indian Express put it best: “What worked for Season 1 was that Laughter Chefs was organically funny and didn’t feel like a daily soap.” That’s the key. The original show didn’t try too hard. It let the contestants be bad at cooking—and that was the joke. Now, the producers are trying to “level up,” adding choreographed dances, scripted roasts, and forced emotional arcs. But comedy isn’t a spreadsheet. You can’t just add more ingredients and expect a better dish.

Even the production schedule feels rushed. Episodes air every Saturday and Sunday at 9:00 PM IST, a grueling pace for a show that thrives on spontaneity. Episode 2, which aired on November 23, 2025, offered no relief. The same jokes. The same awkward silences. The same audience laughter that sounds like it was added in post.

Bharti Singh’s Pregnancy: A New Layer, Not a New Direction

Bharti Singh’s visible baby bump added warmth to the premiere. It was real. Human. A reminder that life goes on—even in the middle of a kitchen disaster. But the show hasn’t figured out how to use it. There’s no emotional arc tied to her pregnancy. No meaningful connection to the chaos around her. It’s just… there. A visual footnote. And that’s a missed opportunity.

Meanwhile, Chef Harpal Sokhi remains the only anchor of authenticity. His deadpan critiques, his raised eyebrows, his quiet disbelief when someone tries to deep-fry a banana—those moments still work. But he’s now surrounded by noise.

What’s Next?

The show’s fate hangs in the balance. Ratings for the premiere were strong—Colors TV confirmed it replaced Pati Patni Aur Panga in its weekend slot, a clear signal of confidence. But viewer sentiment is souring fast. If the next two episodes don’t dial back the forced drama and return to the messy, unscripted joy of Season 1, Laughter Chefs Season 3 could become a cautionary tale: when you try too hard to fix something that wasn’t broken, you end up burning the whole kitchen down.