Anthony Bourdain’s final season of ‘Parts Unknown’: When to watch the N.J. foodie’s last trek
Few knew how brilliant Anthony was. His writing was eloquent and particularly informative and touching. Anthony wrote about the truth. And we traveled around the world with him through “Parts Unknown “. He gave us a unique insight into people’s cultures and their exquisite uniquely prepared palettes…Mmm savoring all those delicious dishes he tasted.
As we watched Anthony very comfortably get along with people all over world he shared his experiences, always enjoying a meal with him while we salivated and learned about other people’s lives, their cultures, their history and their political plights.
People like Anthony, are one of kind who ultimately make a big impression on humanity. He definitely left his mark. I think that was always Anthony’s intention. To show that people more often than not have more in common in our individual lives, cultures, beliefs and sometimes even opinions. The ultimate message is to respect each other regardless of our differences and opinions. Reverence and resilience is what ultimately will hold this world together to continue to evolve and for future generations to live, love, hope and make a difference as Anthony did.
Anthony’s life was probably more complicated than anyone knew. He was deeply honest and shared on “Parts Unknown” during his younger adult life he had done drugs. He was neither proud of it or ashamed of it. Most of his adult like was spent on finding his passion and that is something we all can share and relate to. He said he had discovered his passion for cooking and that soon came with fame and fortune.
From there he evolved as a human being and wanted that very same experience to be shared with the world. He had a daughter that he loved dearly. He was in a relationship for two years that showed to many of us what it was like to be madly in love well into his sixties. He was dating a very eccentric woman and actress named Asia Sargento from Italy. He demonstrated to the world his complete faith and belief in Ms. Sargento’s coming out and sharing publicly she had been raped by Harvey Weinstein. That pretty much started the #Metoo movement where many women and most of them actresses had also been viciously attacked and raped by Harvey Weinstein. It was a deep deep Hollywood secret.
From there more women came out and shared their personal experiences being sexually harassed or sexually assaulted by men in powerful positions in the news media, Congress, government, the entertainment world and other working venues in life.
To be sure, Anthony’s closest friends said he had been working and traveling non-stop. He was tired, exhausted and he did suffer from bouts of depression. No one knew but could only speculate that there might have been a difficult time in his relationship with Ms. Sargento. If that’s true it’s usually a culmination of very difficult circumstances in our lives and even chemical changes in our bodies and mind that contribute to someone taking their lives. We cannot judge or fault them for we could never really know and understand how badly and helpless they felt. Thank you Anthony for your life and your wisdom. ~ Natalie
By Amy Kuperinsky | NJ Advance Media for NJ.comAnthony Bourdain died in June, but he left behind the stories of his final travels across the globe.
The product of those journeys, the 12th and final season of “Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown,” premieres on Sunday, Sept. 23 on CNN.
This final season of Bourdain’s show, which just won six Emmys, was only partially complete at the time of his suicide in France.
For all those interested in following along with the last chapter of the New Jersey-bred chef and writer’s food adventures, here are details on the upcoming season of his show.
When is the ‘Parts Unknown’ season 12 premiere?
Bourdain, who was born in New York and grew up in Leonia, dedicated two episodes to his home state — first in 2005 on his Travel Channel series “No Reservations” and then in 2015 on “Parts Unknown.”
For the first episode of his last season, Bourdain visits Kenya with CNN’s W. Kamau Bell (“United Shades of America”). The show premieres at 9 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 23 on CNN.
