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LOS ANGELES, CA — Netflix has postponed the Season 4 premiere of Is It Cake? after host Mikey Day severed a human hand on set, an incident that generated what witnesses called “a surprising amount” of blood and has allegedly prompted the network to reconsider its previously announced anatomy-themed season called Is It Cake?: Body of Work.
Day, who has hosted the baking competition since its 2022 debut, was midway through the episode’s opening segment when he sliced into what he believed to be an exceptionally detailed fondant recreation of a left hand. He was incorrect.
“The texture is incredibly lifelike,” Day said, still working the knife. “Like, suspiciously lifelike. How did you make the blood gush out like that?”
Day remained in character throughout the lengthy amputation and for 56 seconds afterward, during which time he described “some kind of crunchy center” as he sawed through the radius and ulna bones and asked whether the “filling” was raspberry. Production sources confirmed it was not raspberry.
The hand belonged to Craig Muttner, the show’s senior segment coordinator, who had been concealed inside a display podium as part of the episode’s opening reveal. Muttner, 34, did not scream during the incident, later explaining to medics that he “didn’t want to blow the bit.” He was transported to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where he remains in stable condition and has since watched the footage.
“Nobody told me the knife was real,” Muttner said by phone. “I was under the impression that it was cake.”
James McConnell, another hand model in the segment, said he was relieved that his hands were “definitely less cake-like than Craig’s.” McConnell still has both hands.
The three judges — none of whom are identified by name in Netflix press materials, for reasons the network has not explained — were present on set during the incident. All three declined to taste the hand, with one citing dietary restrictions.
In a statement released Wednesday, Netflix described the episode as “a learning experience for everyone involved” and confirmed that production on Season 4 has been “temporarily paused pending a review.” A network spokesperson confirmed, when asked directly, that “Finger Week” and a two-part special tentatively titled Torso? have been placed on hold.
Variety had previewed Body of Work in March as “the show’s most ambitious creative swing to date.” The article has since been taken down.
Mikey Day, when reached for comment, opened his mouth, then closed it.
After several minutes, he whispered, “It wasn’t cake.”
His now former publicist later issued a statement calling him “a consummate professional who’s heavily involved in the show’s creative direction,” which the publicist confirmed was written before she was told what happened.
Muttner’s hand could not be reattached, but the show’s producers said a realistic, buttercream prosthetic was immediately available.
