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Hold onto your soggy bottoms: ‘The Great British Baking Show’ is moving to Netflix

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First, they came for Shonda Rhimes.

Then, they came for Ryan Murphy.

And now Netflix has swallowed “The Great British Baking Show” into its gaping maw.

The streaming giant took another step forward Thursday in its quest for global domination by announcing it would be the exclusive American home for the next three seasons of the reality series, which previously aired on PBS.

The sweet new era begins Aug. 31, when viewers will be able to binge a 10-episode season of the revamped series — minus original judge Mary Berry and hosts Sue Perkins and Mel Giedroyc — and will be followed by fresh batches later this year and in 2019.

In addition, Netflix also has plans to release annual two-episode holiday specials for the next three years.

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The show, in which contestants whip up their finest baked goods in a pastel-hued tent in the English countryside, is a huge hit in the U.K. and has also earned a passionate following among foodies, Anglophiles and pun enthusiasts on this side of the pond.

The fate of the show in the U.S. had been an open question since commercial broadcaster Channel 4 outbid the publicly funded BBC for rights to air the series in the U.K. in 2016. The move from the BBC prompted Berry, Perkins and Giedroyc to depart the series and sparked concerns that “The Great British Bake-Off,” as it’s known back home, would lose its charm.

Judge Paul Hollywood chose to remain with the series and was joined by presenters Noel Fielding and Sandi Toksvig and fellow judge Prue Leith. The revamped “Bake-Off” aired last summer on Channel 4 and remains popular with viewers.

Meanwhile, PBS aired its final episode of “The Great British Baking Show” last week. The episodes, which had not yet been seen in the U.S., were from a season that was broadcast in the U.K. in 2012.

Netflix has moved aggressively into the unscripted space in recent years with titles such as the “Queer Eye” reboot and “Nailed It,” a competition show which functions like “The Great British Baking Show’s” evil twin and features amateur bakers who make hilariously bad attempts at elaborate desserts.

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meredith.blake@latimes.com

Follow me @MeredithBlake

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