<Tr> <Td_colspan="2"> Official website </Td> </Tr> <P> MasterChef Junior is an American cooking competition involving children and teenagers from age of 8 - 13 and airs on Fox . It premiered on Friday, September 27, 2013 . It is based on the format of the U.K. series Junior MasterChef . </P> <P> On March 5, 2014, MasterChef Junior was renewed for a third season before production on season two began . The second season premiered on November 4, 2014 . The third season premiered on January 6, 2015 . The fourth season premiered on November 6, 2015 . The fifth season premiered on February 9, 2017 . The sixth season was announced by Fox on September 19, 2017, and began airing on March 2, 2018 . It will feature the return of former MasterChef and MasterChef Junior judge Joe Bastianich . </P> <P> Any child or teenager between ages eight and thirteen can apply to become a contestant on the series by applying online or by going to an open casting call . Twenty - four applicants are chosen to audition . At the auditions, the applicants are split into three groups . Twelve of the applicants become contestants for the next round and all twenty - four receive one of the MasterChef franchise's signature aprons that they get to keep, regardless of their progress . </P>

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