Back in early June, the food world lost one of its wisest, smartest and most thoughtful faces. While Guy Fieri took us on regular trips to Flavortown and Gordon Ramsay cussed out wannabe chefs and made us all laugh, Anthony Bourdain would often make us think, touching our hearts for over a decade with his various food shows.
He tragically took his own life on June 8 aged 61 years old, and since then, life hasn't been the same. Tributes have been pouring in, from Darren Aronofsky to Queens of the Stone Age frontman Josh Homme, and we've even thought about how to replace his show in our hearts. Gordon Ramsay tried to plug the gap, but people weren't having it, but luckily, we've got some episodes left of Bourdain's show Parts Unknown to help ease the pain.
CNN, the network that hosts the show, has seven more episodes of Parts Unknown, with an episode featuring a journey to Kenya officially the last to feature Bourdain's trademark narration. The episode in question has Bourdain with W. Kamau Bell, the host of CNN’s United Shades of America.
We'll also see trips to Indonesia, Spain, Manhattan's Lower East Side, with directors tying each episode together using interviews and snippets of Bourdain's on-location audio.
Speaking to the LA Times (the first to break the story), CNN executive Amy Entelis (who helped bring Parts Unknown to life) said: “Each one will feel slightly different depending on what’s gathered in the field.”
“They will have the full presence of Tony because you’ll see him, you’ll hear him, you’ll watch him," Entelis added. "That layer of his narration will be missing, but it will be replaced by other voices of people who are in the episodes.”
The penultimate episode of Parts Unknown will largely be made up of outtakes, behind-the-scenes footage plus reflections from the cast and crew. The final episode will be entirely dedicated to Bourdain, with reactions from his colleagues, friends and followers looking at "how Tony affected the world".
“People said, ‘I was afraid to travel before I watched the show,’ ‘I followed his route,’ ‘I was an addict and I connected with Tony and now I’m fine,'" Entelis said. “Others were angry that he’s not in the world anymore. It’s an incredible outpouring. A lot of people are experiencing what we are.”
Bourdain was found in his hotel room in Strasbourg by friend Eric Ripert while filming for the latest season of Parts Unknown.
Having launched in 2013, Parts Unknown have won five Emmys during its run, and after his death has been nominated for six more, including Outstanding Cinematography for a Nonfiction Program, Outstanding Picture Editing for a Nonfiction Program and Outstanding Writing for a Nonfiction Program.
The final season and episodes of Parts Unknown will air this fall, and at least five of the episodes will be made in Bourdain's signature style.