Blown Away (TV series)

Blown Away is a Canadian reality glassblowing competition television series that premiered on the Canadian channel Makeful^[1] before a subsequent release on the streaming platform Netflix. The 10-episode first season was released on July 12, 2019. The series is filmed in Canada^[2] and is produced by Marblemedia.^[3]

Blown Away
Genre	Reality
Written by	Ron Carroll Amy Hosking
Presented by	Nick Uhas (seasons 1–3) Bobby Berk (Christmas) Hunter March (season 4–)
Country of origin	Canada
Original language	English
No. of seasons	4
No. of episodes	44
Production
Executive producers	Mark J. W. Bishop Matt Hornburg
Producers	Ron Carroll Amy Hosking Donna Luke Mike Bickerton Brett Ashley Caitlin Dosa Zoe Kazakos Ajeeth Parkal Greg Floyd Gina Lomas Topher McFarlane Jacqui Skeete
Running time	23 minutes
Production company	Marblemedia
Original release
Network	Makeful
Release	February 20, 2019 (2019-02-20) – present

Casting for a second season was announced in November 2019.^[4][5] Season 2 was released on Netflix in January 2021. A four-episode Christmas series was released in November 2021.^[6] Season 3 premiered on July 22, 2022.^[7] Season 4 premiered on March 8, 2024.^[8]

The contestants on the show are 10 glassblowers. Katherine Gray, an artist and associate professor at California State University, San Bernardino, is the chief judge. Nick Uhas, a former Big Brother USA contestant and science YouTuber, hosted the show for its first three seasons.^[9] Hunter March became the host for season 4.^[10] The winner receives a prize package worth the equivalent of $60,000, including an artist residency at the Corning Museum of Glass.^[11] The first season was filmed in a converted warehouse in Hamilton, Ontario,^[12] a facility that was "custom-built to accommodate 10 glass blowers working simultaneously".^[11] Industry experts from the Craft and Design Glass Studio at Sheridan College, Pilchuck Glass School, and the Corning Museum of Glass consulted the producers during the construction of the facility and provided advice and evaluation to the contestants each round.

Contestants

Season 1

Contestant[13]	Outcome
Deborah Czeresko[14]	Winner
Janusz Poźniak[15]	Runner-up
Alexander Rosenberg[16]	3rd place
Patrick Primeau[17]	4th place
K. Momoko "Momo" Schafer[18][19]	5th place
Leah Kudel[20]	6th place
Annette Sheppard	7th place
Edgar Valentine[15]	8th place
Benjamin Kikkert	9th place
Kevin Kiff	10th place

Season 2

Contestant[21]	Outcome
Elliot Walker[22]	Winner
Cat Burns[23]	Runner-up
Chris Taylor[24]	3rd place
Nao Yamamoto	4th place
Andi Kovel[25]	5th place
Mike Shelbo[26]	6th place
Brad Turner	7th place
Jason McDonald	8th place
Ben Silver	9th place
Tegan Hamilton	10th place

Blown Away: Christmas

Contestant	Outcome	Blown Away History
		Season	Placement
Cat Burns	Winner	Season 2	Runner-up
Nao Yamamoto	Runner-up	Season 2	4th place
Alexander Rosenberg	3rd place	Season 1	3rd place
Edgar Valentine	4th place	Season 1	8th place
Andi Kovel	5th place	Season 2	5th place

Season 3

Contestant[27]	Outcome
John Moran	Winner
Minhi Su England	Runner-up
John Sharvin	3rd place
Dan Friday	4th place
Trenton Quiocho	5th place
Grace Whiteside	6th place
Brenna Baker	7th place
Maddy Hughes	8th place
Rob Stern	9th place
Claire Kelly	10th place

Season 4

Contestant	Outcome
Morgan Peterson	Winner
Ryan Thompson	Runner-up
Jonathan Capps	3rd place
Karen Willenbrink-Johnsen	4th place
Gemma Hollister	5th place
Ryan Blythe	6th place
Leana Quade	7th place
Arthur Wilson	8th place
Robert Burch	9th place
Hayden MacRae	10th place

Episodes

Season	Episodes		Originally released
			First released	Last released	Network
1	10		February 20, 2019 (2019-02-20)	April 24, 2019 (2019-04-24)	Makeful
2	10		January 22, 2021 (2021-01-22)		Netflix
Christmas	4		November 19, 2021 (2021-11-19)
3	10		July 22, 2022 (2022-07-22)
4	10		March 8, 2024 (2024-03-08)

Season 1 (2019)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Original release date [28]
1	1	"Snapshot"	February 20, 2019 (2019-02-20)
Guest evaluator: Chris Taylor from the Pilchuck Glass School
2	2	"Potluck Party"	February 27, 2019 (2019-02-27)
Guest evaluator: Marc Lepine from the restaurant Atelier
3	3	"Lighten Up"	March 6, 2019 (2019-03-06)
Guest evaluator: Jay Macdonell from the contemporary and design manufacturing company Bocci
4	4	"Clash of the Robots"	March 13, 2019 (2019-03-13)
Guest evaluator: Jesse Hirsh
5	5	"Thirsty Work"	March 20, 2019 (2019-03-20)
Guest evaluator: Sommelier Emily Pearce-Bibona
6	6	"Pop Art Blowup"	March 27, 2019 (2019-03-27)
Guest evaluator: Perry Tung from Bonhams Auction House
7	7	"Dual Intent"	April 3, 2019 (2019-04-03)
Guest evaluator: Catherine Osborne, former editor-in-chief of the architecture and design magazine Azure
8	8	"The Glass is Greener"	April 10, 2019 (2019-04-10)
Guest evaluator: Janet Morrison, president of Sheridan College
9	9	"Body Parts"	April 17, 2019 (2019-04-17)
Guest evaluator: Greta Hodgkinson, principal dancer with the National Ballet of Canada
10	10	"Best in Blow"	April 24, 2019 (2019-04-24)
Guest evaluator: Eric Meek, from the Corning Museum of Glass

Season 2 (2021)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Original release date [28]
11	1	"Mirror, Mirror"	January 22, 2021 (2021-01-22)
Guest evaluator: Alexander Rosenberg, glass artist and educator, season 1 contestant
12	2	"Think Inside the Box"	January 22, 2021 (2021-01-22)
Guest evaluator: Benjamin Wright, artist director of Pilchuck Glass School
13	3	"Name That Toon"	January 22, 2021 (2021-01-22)
Guest evaluator: Kathryn Durst, artist and illustrator
14	4	"Force of Nature"	January 22, 2021 (2021-01-22)
Guest evaluator: Heather McElwee, executive director at Pittsburgh Glass Center
15	5	"Center of Attention"	January 22, 2021 (2021-01-22)
Guest evaluator: Bobby Berk, design expert on Queer Eye
16	6	"Scents and Sensibility"	January 22, 2021 (2021-01-22)
Guest evaluator: Michel Germain, fragrance entrepreneur
17	7	"Who's Got Game?"	January 22, 2021 (2021-01-22)
Guest evaluator: Stephen Weatherly, defensive end for the Carolina Panthers
18	8	"Runway Walk"	January 22, 2021 (2021-01-22)
Guest evaluator: Sunny Fong, Project Runway Canada season 2 winner
19	9	"Light My Fire"	January 22, 2021 (2021-01-22)
Guest evaluator: Deborah Czeresko, glass artist, season 1 winner
20	10	"Finale"	January 22, 2021 (2021-01-22)
Guest evaluator: Rob Cassetti, former senior director of Corning Museum of Glass

Blown Away: Christmas (2021)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Original release date
21	1	"Santa's Elves"	November 19, 2021 (2021-11-19)
22	2	"Festive Food"	November 19, 2021 (2021-11-19)
23	3	"Oh Christmas Tree"	November 19, 2021 (2021-11-19)
24	4	"Winter Wonderland"	November 19, 2021 (2021-11-19)

Season 3 (2022)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Original release date [29]
25	1	"The Evolution Will Be Televised"	July 22, 2022 (2022-07-22)
Guest evaluator: Deborah Czeresko, glass artist, season 1 winner
26	2	"Bottoms Up"	July 22, 2022 (2022-07-22)
Guest evaluator: Veronica Saye, award winning cocktail bartender
27	3	"2022, The Year Of Glass"	July 22, 2022 (2022-07-22)
Guest evaluator: Chris Clarke, Director of Operations at the Pittsburgh Glass Center
28	4	"Seven Deadly Sins"	July 22, 2022 (2022-07-22)
Guest evaluator: Donna Davies, Deputy Director Pilchuck Glass School, Art Historian
28	5	"The Bigger The Better"	July 22, 2022 (2022-07-22)
Guest evaluator: Briony Douglas, Sculpture artist
29	6	"Under The Big Top"	July 22, 2022 (2022-07-22)
Guest evaluator: Miranda Tempest, aerial acrobat, circus company owner
30	7	"Team Work Makes The Dream Work"	July 22, 2022 (2022-07-22)
Guest evaluator: Julia Rogers, Robin Rogers, glass artists
31	8	"Out Of This World"	July 22, 2022 (2022-07-22)
Guest evaluator: Dr. Marianne Mader, space scientist
32	9	"Nothing To Fear But Fear Itself"	July 22, 2022 (2022-07-22)
Guest evaluator: Elliot Walker, glass artist, season 2 winner
33	10	"Finale"	July 22, 2022 (2022-07-22)
Guest evaluator: Susie Silbert, Curator of Postwar and Contemporary Glass at Corning Museum of Glass

Season 4 (2024)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Original release date

Results

Season 1

Elimination chart
Artist	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
Deborah				BEST			BEST		BEST	WINNER
Janusz		BEST			BEST	BEST				Runner Up
Alexander	BEST							BEST	OUT
Patrick							BEST	OUT
Momo						OUT
Leah			BEST		OUT
Annette				OUT
Edgar			OUT
Benjamin		OUT
Kevin	OUT

Season 2

Elimination chart
Artist	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
Elliot	BEST			BEST		BEST			BEST	WINNER
Cat			BEST					BEST		Runner Up
Chris		BEST					BEST		OUT
Nao					BEST			OUT
Andi							OUT
Mike					OUT
Brad				OUT
Jason			OUT
Ben		OUT
Tegan	OUT

Blown Away: Christmas

Elimination chart
Artist	1	2	3	4
Cat	BEST	BEST		WINNER
Nao			BEST	Runner Up
Alexander			OUT
Edgar		OUT
Andi	OUT

Season 3

Elimination chart
Artist	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
John M			BEST		BEST		BEST	BEST	BEST	WINNER
Minhi		BEST			BEST					Runner Up
John S						BEST	BEST		OUT
Dan	BEST							OUT
Trenton						OUT
Grace				BEST	OUT
Brenna				OUT
Maddy			OUT
Rob		OUT
Claire	OUT

Season 4

Elimination chart
Artist	1	2	31	4	5	6	7	8	92	10
Morgan		BEST		BEST					BEST	WINNER
Ryan T					BEST	BEST				Runner Up
Jonathan	BEST							BEST	OUT
Karen			BEST				BEST	OUT
Gemma			BEST				OUT
Ryan B						OUT
Quade					OUT
Arthur				OUT
Robert		OUT
Hayden	OUT

^Note 1 : No contestants were eliminated in this episode.
^Note 2 : Jonathan won the quick blow challenge and an extra 20 minutes to complete the main challenge.

Colour key:

  Artist got through to the next round.

  Artist was eliminated.

  Artist was the Best in Blow.

  Artist was a series runner-up.

  Artist was the series winner.

Reception

Blown Away received a positive review from Joel Keller of Decider who compared it to Top Chef and The Great British Bake Off.^[30] The Fader praised the series as rising above other competition shows and being educational.^[2]

Awards

2020	Canadian Screen Awards	Reality/Competition Program or Series	Nominated
		Production Design or Art Direction, Non-Fiction - Tim Luke	Nominated
		Best Direction - Reality or Competition - Mike Bickerton	Won