A batch of reality competition shows involving adolescent chefs are dishing out ratings for FYI, Food Network and other cable programmers.

From spinoffs of hit culinary shows such as Fox’s MasterChef Junior and Food Network’s Chopped Junior, to newer offerings such as FYI’s Man vs. Child: Chef Showdown, shows featuring young chefs are providing networks with content that appeals across several demographics. This new flavor of cooking show also skews younger than more-traditional fare.

“There is a cultural phenomenon going on now with kid cooks and having a passion and growing talent for cooking,” Gena McCarthy, executive vice president of programming and development for FYI, said.

For Food Network, shows like Kids Baking Championship and Chopped Junior don’t just appeal to the network’s core adult 18-49 viewer, but also to younger audiences that don’t typically watch the network, according to Didi O’Hearn, senior vice president of programming for the Food Network and Cooking Channel.

Nearly 30% of the adult 18-49 audience for Kids Baking Championship during its freshman run in 2015 watched with their kids, making it the top co-viewed show on cable during its Monday 8 p.m. time slot, according to Food.

Chopped Junior finished its freshman campaign earlier this year as Food Network’s third-most-watched show among both adults 24-54 and adults 25-34, illustrating the genre’s appeal across younger and older audiences.

“Our ultimate goal remains growing our core demo, [but] when we look at the whole family at 8 p.m. with our shows, we benefit from engagement with that core demo, as well as the best type of sampling as far as multigenerational family co-viewing,” O’Hearn said.

Sophomore series Man vs. Child is FYI’s most watched food-themed show and one of its most-watched shows in primetime. McCarthy said the network often schedules episodes in weekend blocks to reach tweens and teens who may not be watching primetime TV.

“Part of the appeal for viewers is there’s a ‘holy crap’ factor when you’re watching these 10-year-old kids with such demonstrative talent in the kitchen — that cuts through in a visual media,” she added. “At the same time, it also appeals to foodies because it’s smart, aspirational and there’s tons of takeaways wrapped in the package.

“It becomes a young brand for FYI and has dual appeal, especially when kids watch with their parents,” McCarthy added.

Both FYI and Food are looking to serve up new shows featuring kid chefs. FYI recently greenlit a second kids-themed cooking show, Stove Tots, produced by Jeff Collins, producer of Lifetime’s Dance Moms, and set to air in 2017. The series follows young cooks and their families as they prepare for and compete in cookoffs across the U.S. (It also greenlit a new non-kids culinary competition series, Man vs. Master.) McCarthy said FYI is looking at other kids’-themed cooking shows, too.

Along with the mid-August launch of Food Network Star spinoff series Food Network Star Kids, Food Network is planning two holiday-themed specials this fall: Kids Halloween Baking Championship and Kids Sweets Showdown, according to O’Hearn.

Discovery Channel’s reality competition series Naked and Afraid has been a ratings juggernaut for the network since its debut in 2013. Over its four seasons the series, featuring a pair of survivalists each week who have to cope with harsh environments without clothes, water or shelter, has averaged more than 3 million viewers. A freshman spinoff series, Naked and Afraid XL, which puts 12 survivalists into the elements in a 40-day challenge, also generated more than 3 million viewers this past summer.

Naked and Afraid executive producer Joseph Boyle strips the series down to examine its success and appeal to viewers in a conversation with Multichannel News programming editor R. Thomas Umstead. Boyle, who also served as executive producer for Discovery’s Deadliest Catch, also discusses the potential of removing the infamous pixels in the series in a wide-ranging interview, an edited version of which follows.

MCN:What has been the biggest selling point ofNaked and Afraid?

Joseph Boyle: I think for me what is interesting in something like Naked and Afraid is that it showcases who individuals really are. A challenge this intense and living that way off the land in such an extreme way really shows what kind of mettle you have. I think that the people like to see individuals put in a position where they can show basically the triumphs of the human will and spirit.

MCN:Plus it doesn’t hurt that the participants are naked.

JB: Of course there’s the nakedness thing. I think this is relevant — clothing is our first line of defense and shelter that we have in any given situation, so stripping people down to the very barest of bones — pardon the pun — is really amplifying all of those factors that go into survival. Starting from literally a place of nothing makes for really the most authentic starting point in a challenge like this.

MCN:Are people living vicariously through the characters ofNaked and Afraid?

JB: We’re actually getting a chance to look back in time. I think the Adam and Eve comparisons are very obvious, and it gives us a chance to look back at ourselves as the original hunters and gatherers — the roots of who we are as human beings. Like a lot of television, Naked and Afraid takes us to places and situations that we might want to go to, and that’s a huge part of it because we shoot it on virtually every continent, save Antarctica. We’re in amazing situations and amazing locales showing just how adaptable and resourceful human beings are.

MCN:Are you surprised that the whole living off the land genre has taken off?

JB: No. There’s a lot of talk about authenticity — it’s more of a buzzword than ever before — but I think people have always craved that type of programming, even going back to Deadliest Catch. It offers people a chance to see seemingly normal people in extraordinary circumstances performing in extraordinary ways. I think that’s a huge draw, and it always has been. For us, even though it’s two naked people trying to survive in a really harsh location, to me there is heroism and frailty that comes out every single time. It’s the kind of television I want to watch.

MCN:You’ve expanded the franchise toNaked and Afraid XL— are there any other plans to further spin it off?

JB: We’re always trying to think of new ideas — XL is a fantastic and very natural expansion of what we’re doing, so we’re always considering what’s next. In this day and age in our industry, innovation in all forms is where we have to be, so it’s something that we’re always talking about.

MCN:Is there a possibility of creating an uncut, unedited version ofNaked and Afraidwithout the pixels?

JB: No, I don’t think so, because it’s outside of the point. It would be a distraction to the storytelling we’re trying to do. I suppose if we were in a world where nudity wasn’t an issue at all, then the show would be fully nude, but it’s one of those things where nudity would be a complete distraction, so I can’t imagine ever doing that.

The man who introduced Latin pop and salsa rhythms to the non-Hispanic world with 1998 FIFA World Cup anthem “The Cup of Life” is set to give life — or death — to musicians hoping to be crowned the next big Banda.

Ricky Martin, perhaps the original “boy band” star of the Latin world thanks to his meteoric rise to stardom as a member of 1980s teen act Menudo, has been named executive producer and the first judge of Univision’s long-awaited answer to The X Factor, American Idol and The Voice.

Martin will be joined by other yet-to-be revealed judges on the reality competition series, which was teased during Univision’s 2015 upfront presentation some 10 months ago but won’t air until September, the network said. Mexican beauty-pageant winner and Univision presenter Alejandra Espinoza will host.

La Banda is being developed through a multifaceted partnership between Univision and Simon Cowell’s SYCO Entertainment, Haim Saban’s Saban Brands, and FremantleMedia Latin America, which is co-producing the series.

“I am very excited to be a part of this innovative program, together with Simon Cowell,” Martin said. “Our community needs musical projects in order to cultivate its talents, which is why I feel it’s the perfect moment for a show like La Banda. There is so much talent to be discovered, and I’m sure we’ll find the next musical phenomenon with the help of not only the judges but also the fans.”

In prepared comments, Cowell added: “We are on a search for a world-class band, and we needed a world class judge. I know Ricky, and he is as excited and passionate about the show as I am. I know he’s going to do an amazing job.”

Yet women are being shut out of La Banda, no matter how talented they may be.

Despite a six-city series of auditions that started March 7 in Los Angeles and included stops in San Juan, P.R.; Houston; New York; Chicago; and Miami, the goal of La Banda is to bring a Menudo-like experience to a generation born some 25 years after that act’s commercial peak. “The ultimate Latino boy band” ultimately selected by La Banda judges will score a recording contract with Sony Music Latin and Cowell’s SYCO Music — the recording label for boy band of the moment, One Direction.

In addition to the six-city casting tour, boys aged 14 and older residing in the U.S. and Puerto Rico who wished to participate on La Banda could enter at LaBandaoficial.com and upload pictures, videos or sound files of their musical talents and onstage moves.

Select online registrants, much like a character in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, snagged a “golden ticket” inviting them to participate in a private audition with the Banda production team.

Martin will manage the winning band.