New Bourdain Show on CNN

[Philly Ray]

http://insidetv.ew.com/2012/05/29/ant...

So, does this mean that he is leaving Travel Channel?

Also, are we going to get all of the places he has already been to only repackaged for CNN?

And, most importantly, is Zamir coming with him?

[Kagemusha]

Hmmm. Watching his original "Cook's Tour" series which remains his best along with the companion book. Everything that followed was just an over-produced riff on these highly original low-budget gems. Can't imagine the now-old dog pulling off new tricks even with CNN's financial encouragement.

[dbrodbeck]

Interestingly, I have read that he is not that proud of Cook's Tour, or parts of it.

[Bacardi1]

Yes - I've read/heard the same thing. That he really disliked making "Cook's Tour" because of the stifling nature (among other things) of "The Food Network".

[dbrodbeck]

Yeah, and I know in the episode of NR when he did the commentary about the film about his book tour for Kitchen Confidential he was pretty embarrassed. There are two Bourdains it seems, some like the earlier one, some the latter. I like both of them....

[zzDan]

That may be but cooks tour was the best plus his early shows on Travel. Cook's Tour where he went to the SE Asian (Vietnam?) market and sampled meat being grilled on an (improvised) automobile hub. Now he avoids this and substitutes these allegedly cool punk rockers who he drinks to oblivion with in Boston. The Boston episode sucked to the nth. Even the clam shack (East Boston) he visited sucked. AB lost his edge once he gave up cigarettes plus got fat and content to be in a grove. The only time he gets frisky these days is ragging on AW calling her "Pol Pot in MuuMuu" now that was funny!!

[zzDan]

I used to anticipate his new 60 minute shows and watch them fresh. Not anymore. Plus get rid of those punk rockers on Bourdaine/CNN they are not cool or "cutting edge" they suck

[dbrodbeck]

Yes, as you have said, you do not like the musicians. Others, I imagine, like them. It is also his show and all, and he seems to like the musicians he has had on. I quite liked the Queens of the Stone Age and the Black Keys episodes. (Hardly punk rockers BTW). He has of course had punk bands on. It is the music he likes.

[zzDan]

http://www.spin.com/articles/johnny-d...

Keith Richards is their folk hero and they will never come close to him. The same KR who came in person to Artichoke Pizza (Manhattan) to pick up his pie. The aforementioned bands are aspiring and irritating a lethal combination like you garnishing a hot pizza with grape soda

[zzDan]

That may be but cooks tour was the best plus his early shows on Travel. Cook's Tour where he went to the SE Asian (Vietnam?) market and sampled meat being grilled on an (improvised) automobile hub. Now he avoids this and substitutes these allegedly cool punk rockers who he drinks to oblivion with in Boston. The Boston episode sucked to the nth. Even the clam shack (East Boston) he visited sucked. AB lost his edge once he gave up cigarettes plus got fat and content to plough a certain grove. The only time he gets frisky these days is ragging on AW calling her "Pol Pot in MuuMuu" now that was funny!!

[applehome]

So all that nice-nice in Medium raw... hooey? He's leaving Scripps Howard again so he can go back to bashing Sandra and Paula big time. Or he has in fact mellowed and can truly appreciate the big bucks CNN's gotta be paying him. Hey - big news - CNN's not gonna throttle him. They want... no, they NEED the new viewership. They're gambling that Tony's drunken, heavy metal, no bullshit ways will lead them into a new era of championship pseudo-news. Maybe they'll even win an Emmy or two.

[Bacardi1]

With any luck, CNN will hopefully at least nix Bourdain touring with all of the inane bands he feels have been necessary to many of his last few season episodes. Yes - we get it. We know the bands. But they add absolutely NOTHING to the segments except ignorance & idiocy.

[zzDan]

I don't know the bands and they add nothing. Maybe this was intended to draw in younger hipster types viewers?

[dbrodbeck]

I find I have similar taste in music to Bourdain, so I like when the various bands are on.

[dbrodbeck]

I am not sure how many of you remember, but CNN had a travel and food show in the 90s, with Burt Wolf.

[paulj]

Who now can be seen on CreateTV

[dbrodbeck]

I remember on CNN every recipe he would present started out with 'a little oil goes into a sauté pan' except when we was in Taiwan and said 'a little oil goes into a hot wok'....

[eatntell]

I'm a Bourdain fan since his "Kitchen Confidential" book, and have mixed feelings about No Reservation. Some he did very well (Hong Kong noodle maker), and some miserably (Boston Rondo's). Overall, I like his take no prisoner outspoken style, whether I agree with him or not. Something in short supply. The series is getting worn and tired though.

But I doubt that Bourdain would be given the same free rein at CNN. I will wager a lobster roll that he will not be dissing Rachel Ray there. I'll miss that.

[Phaedrus]

Article in today's NYT.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/04/bus...

[Antilope]

What do you know? CNN actually hired someone without a British accent. ;-) No if they could only get some ratings.

[JuniorBalloon]

The Finish episode, with the blood cupping scene was, for me, a "jump the shark" moment and I didn't watch the Baja episode. I am almost annoyed enough with his antics to send him a pointed Tweet!

EDIT: Oops this was supposed to be a response to paulj.

jb

[paulj]

Think about how much people would have missed if they were annoyed with the iguana scene on Cooks Tour, and refused to watch anything else he produced.

The Bizarre Foods visit to an Ecuadorian shaman is another segment that could have turned off sensitive viewers for ever, to their loss (in my opinion).

[JuniorBalloon]

I haven't found anything else to be as gratuitous and gross on NoRes as the cupping scene, but almost any scene with Zimmern does it for me.

[applehome]

Seal eyeballs in Canada?

[paulj]

Funny how there was tread complaining about the Finish episode, but none about the latest on Baja (which featured more great food). We seem to be more interested in ranting than raving.

[inaplasticcup]

That Baja epi was drools from start to finish. :)))

[tardigrade]

I'm getting old: I remember when CNN was a news channel.

[FoodPopulist]

Hopefully, they can upgrade his alcohol budget.

[Xericx]

Not looking forward to this. Seems like it might have too much of a news/documentary feel to it and it will get too serious.

And it being a weekend show versus a weekday show will hurt. Will they really allow him to smoke, swear and drink on CNN...the things that make Bourdain tick.

I enjoyed the rogue nature of A Cook's Tour much more than No Reservations, and I predict Bourdain will be more of a correspondent reflecting on problems in the world rather than fun food critic documenting food around the world.

[dbrodbeck]

I imagine it will not change that much. Bourdain has not smoked in a long time, so that is not much of an issue. I think the change between a Cook's Tour and No Reservations (and the changes in NR over the years) are just due to changes in AB, not so much in what corporate big whigs asked. He has matured, had a kid etc. I mostly look forward to this because I don't get the travel channel, but I get CNN.....

[SteveRB]

"Somalia is really bumming me out this morning, let's see if this beer is any good. Mmmm"

[JuniorBalloon]

Hopefully he will travel with Anderson Cooper to places like Syria and while Anderson reports on the killing Anthony can get drunk with the locals that are being bombed.

[TrishUntrapped]

Looking forward to it.

[chris2269]

Read this on Eater LA
It's official: Anthony Bourdain is leaving the Travel Channel behind and is headed to CNN. It's the end of No Reservations, the Emmy award-winning series that has run for eight seasons (the premiere was July 25, 2005). Bourdain tweeted that the production company Zero Point Zero will come along for the ride: "Moving with same ZPZ crew over to CNN to do another world travel show. Congo? Libya? Finally?"

It was confirmed from ZPZ that the current season of No Reservations on Travel Channel will be its last; currently the second season of The Layover is in production and will air on the Travel Channel. Reached for comment, Bourdain tells Eater: "Same production team, same amazing crew, same me--but the world just got a whole lot bigger."