The final episodes of Anthony Bourdain’s CNN travel series “Parts Unknown” will begin with a tour of Kenya, where Bourdain will be joined by “United States of America” host W. Kamau Bell, on Sept. 23.
Season 12 of the series was in production when Bourdain died in June on location in France.
“We believed early on that Parts Unknown would be an exceptional series with an incomparable host and stellar production team,” said Amy Entelis, executive vice president, talent and content development, CNN Worldwide. “We are grateful to have collaborated with such an incredibly talented friend and colleague whose prolific body of work and extraordinary personality
In the final episodes, Bourdain travels to Kenya, Asturias, Spain, Indonesia, West Texas, and New York City’s Lower East Side. There will also be two still-unnamed specials.
The series is produced by Zero Point Zero Production with executive producers Chris Collins, Lydia Tenaglia, Sandra Zweig, and Anthony Bourdain. “Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown The Final Episodes” premieres on CNN Sunday, September 23, at 9 p.m.
See below for CNN’s descriptions of each episode.
Kenya (season 12 premiere: September 23 – special extended episode 9 p.m.-10:15 p.m. ET) Bourdain introduces his fellow CNN Original Series host W. Kamau Bell (United Shades of America) to the distinctive sights, tastes, and sounds of Kenya. It is Bell’s first trip to the African continent, and to a country that holds a personal connection for him. In Nairobi, they talk to locals about the country’s growth and economic challenges, as well as the continual fight for identity and self-definition of Kenyans. Bourdain and Bell also take a Matatu party bus ride, share a meal of goat’s head soup and visit a boxing academy devoted to teaching young women, and promoting female
empowerment. Leaving Nairobi the pair travel to Lewa Wildlife Conservancy and visit with a Maasai community actively engaged in conservation. Through the eyes of Bourdain and Bell, and their first experiences with this highly dynamic deeply, soulful and beautiful country we ask, what will a future Kenya… for Kenyans…. by Kenyans…look like?
Asturias, Spain Bourdain travels to the enchanted region of Asturias, Spain with chef and humanitarian Jose Andres, as he makes a return to his homeland. The people of Asturias embody the rugged environment of the region with a hard working ‘do it yourself’ spirit. Bourdain and Andres hike to a remote village in the mountains for traditional fabada, ocean cliffs for gooseneck barnacles, and secret cheese caves in undisclosed locations. Bourdain also enjoys pitu de caleya with local musician Pablo Und Destruktion while he’s served on the last worker’s class movement. And in true Jose Andres form, he saves a special surprise for the end.
Indonesia A shadow puppet performance provides an entry into understanding Indonesia, a country comprised of thousands of islands whose people endured political turmoil, and one in which, Bourdain discovers, food is the great unifier. In this fourth largest country in the world, every area has its own unique traditions. In Jakarta, Bourdain eats at a Padang Restaurant where nearly every menu item comes to the table; while in Bali he visits the beach, commenting on yoga before joining in a traditional Balinese Funeral ceremony.
Anthony Bourdain Parts Unknown Special #1 (working title) This episode explores how Anthony Bourdain’s unique perspective and voice altered the world of food, travel and culture and in the process reinvented how audiences watched television and engaged intimately and actively with the world around them.
West Texas Bourdain travels to the untamed land of Big Bend, Texas near the Mexican border; an area that pits man against nature and in which the land usually wins. Bourdain shares meals with working cowboys who have made peace with the rough terrain, and meets with an anthropologist who decoded prehistoric landmark, the White Shaman wall painting.
Anthony Bourdain Parts Unknown Special #2 (working title) Bourdain’s relationship with his crew, the team that traveled with him and slogged through the trenches, was like no other in his life. In this episode the people who made Parts Unknown select moments from their episodes and pull back the curtain, to talk about collaboration, creative freedom, moments when Bourdain had their back or called them out, the times when he was caught off guard or forgot the cameras were even there.
Lower East Side (special extended episode 9pm-10:15pm ET) Bourdain takes a personal journey through this formerly bohemian New York City neighborhood, as he meets, shares meals and reflects with music, film and art trailblazers including Richard Hell, Deborah Harry and Chris Stein, Lydia Lunch, Fab 5 Freddy, Danny Fields, Amos Poe, Jim Jarmusch, Kembra Pfahler, John Lurie, Clayton Patterson and Harley Flanagan, whose collective cultural impact in the 1970’s and ’80’s has sustained through the decades.