Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown
Cast & Key People
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Our Review
Cast & Key People
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Our Review
Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown (2013) is a food and travel series from CNN. It has built a run of 95 episodes at roughly 60 minutes each. It premiered on April 14, 2013. Viewers rate it 8.9 out of 10. Critics sit at 99% on Rotten Tomatoes. It is currently ended. It runs 12 seasons.
What Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown Is About
Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown follows chef and author Anthony Bourdain to extraordinary locations across the globe to celebrate diverse cultures exploring their food and dining rituals. Known for his curiosity, candor, and acerbic wit, Bourdain took viewers off the beaten path of tourist destinations – including some war-torn parts of the world – and met with a variety of local citizens to offer a window into their lifestyles, and occasionally communed with an internationally lauded chef on his journey.
What to Expect When You Watch
Episodes run about 60 minutes, which keeps the pace tight, the full run covers 95 episodes, spread across 12 seasons and it leans into its food/travel roots while leaving room for the quieter character beats.
Performance-wise the series leans on Anthony Bourdain to carry the emotional weight, with the rest of the ensemble filling out the world around them.
Cast and Creative Team
Anthony Bourdain lead the cast.
Key roles include Anthony Bourdain as Host.
Why It Stands Out
Fans of food and travel have a clear reason to give this one a shot. It sits comfortably alongside CNN’s other originals, a 8.9/10 audience score puts it in steady company and it commits to its premise instead of hedging between tones.
Released in 2013 and carried by CNN with the series still ended, it lands hardest with food and travel viewers.
How Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown Compares
If Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown lands for you, the next stops are The Bear and Hot Ones, which share its food/travel lean.
Each of those sits at a different point on the same spectrum, so they make a natural follow-up once you finish the run here.
Where to Stream
Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown comes from CNN. Check your preferred platform for current availability, since regional rights move around.
Disclosure: We may earn a commission if you sign up for a streaming service through links on this page. This helps support our independent reviews.
On the whole Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown is the kind of series that rewards a patient watch, with Anthony Bourdain doing the heaviest lifting, a tone that stays true to its food/travel roots, It has held up since 2013 and so if the premise sounds like your lane, the execution holds up.
The Bottom Line
Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown is a safe bet for anyone already inside the food and travel lane, at 95 episodes it is an easy run to work through, the audience score holds around 8.9/10 and so there is little risk in starting it tonight.
Verdict: 8.9/10. Watch it if you want food/travel you can settle into.
