Anthony Bourdain, remarking on the last season of my favorite travel show:
Seven new episodes of NO RESERVATIONS left—interspersed, I’m afraid, by three (count them, THREE) shows made up of “repurposed” material—aka clip shows. Seven shows seemed like enough to me. Especially since knowing they were to be our last, we put our heart and soul into them. Austin , Burgundy with Ludo Lefevbre, Emilia Romagna with Michael White, Sydney, the Dominican Republic, Rio de Janeiro and Brooklyn. I like the idea of going out on a high note—still doing strong work. But smarter minds than ours insist that seven is not enough. And that audiences either love—or won’t notice—old footage reedited to look like new—aka “special”— shows. This, apparently, is what passes for creativity in the stratosphere of executive thinking.
I think it is clear why Anthony & Co. are leaving The Travel Channel. I hope CNN allows Anthony and his team to do whatever they think best with their show – sink or swim.