#Kristin Chenoweth on Bringing ‘Candy Land’ to Life for Food Network

Sweet dreams are made of this: Hasbro’s board game comes to life in a new competition for professional confectioners.

After finding ingredients hidden somewhere in Candy Land — say, Lemon Lime Springs or the Gumdrop Mountains — five teams of sugar specialists take on various challenges, creating candied mythical creatures, one-of-a-kind gifts for King Kandy and more. Their work is judged by Spring Baking Championship‘s winning chocolatier Nacho Aguirre and The Next Food Network Star’s Season 6 victor, Aarti Sequeira.  

Over six episodes, Emmy and Tony winner Kristin Chenoweth guides contestants through the Wonka-worthy interpretations of classic Candy Land locations. More than 100 pounds of chocolate form Chocolate Mountain. Lollipop Woods contains 1,000 suckers. Giant candy canes fill the Peppermint Forest.

“When I got on set, I freaked out,” she says. “[We] are physically in the game. It looks beautiful.” Good enough to eat, actually. “The entire set was edible,” the admitted chocolate fan notes, laughing. “You could pick something off a tree and eat it. They didn’t want us to, but by the end of the night, just try and stop me!”

Currently, Chenoweth also voices a mouse in HBO Max’s The Witches and plays Emma Roberts’ aunt in Netflix’s Holidate, but this project takes the cake: “I remember [as a kid] my older brother was moving on to Monopoly and Chutes and Ladders, but I was like, ‘No, I want to play Candy Land!'” Us too.

Candy Land, Series Premiere 9/8c, Sunday, November 15, Food Network