Anthony Bourdain may be gone, but the Emmys have not forgotten his impact on television. The winners for the Creative Arts Emmys were announced last night (September 9) and Anthony Bourdain's CNN series, Parts Unknown, was among the winners. The series won six awards with one perhaps particularly bittersweet and long-awaited victory among them. The celebrity chef and television host was finally honored with the award for Best Non-Fiction Writing for his work on Parts Unknown.
Anthony Bourdain had been nominated for the award eight times during his career, only to have victory escape him each time. Parts Unknown producer, Lydia Tenaglia, accepted the award on his behalf while noting the "tremendous bittersweetness" in accepting it possessed. The victory comes a brief time after Bourdain died while filming the series in France. He passed away roughly three months ago in early June. He won Emmys for best informational series or special, writing for non-fiction program, picture editing for a non-fiction program, sound editing for a non-fiction program, and sound mixing for a non-fiction program, all for Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown. The sixth Emmy came due to a win in the best short-form non-fiction or reality category for his series Anthony Bourdain: Explore Parts Unknown.
His legacy lives on. Among the awards, Parts Unknown won last night was the one for Best Informational Series or Special. The series will have an opportunity to add to its awards wins next year. CNN recently announced that Parts Unknown would return for a twelfth and final season. The show will feature Anthony Bourdain, who had filmed enough content before his death to create a season that brings the series to an end. Only one episode of Season 12 had been entirely completed before Bourdain's death.
That episode will feature Anthony Bourdain's written narration, and it will be the last one to do so. That installment of Parts Unknown will follow Bourdain's trip to Kenya alongside CNN's United Shades of America host W. Kamau Bell. The final episode of the series will be a tribute to its star. Just last year, the host had been on the red carpet of the Emmys alongside, fellow celebrity chef Gordon Ramsey.
What a sad difference a year makes. Anthony Bourdain's posthumous Emmy wins join his four other awards for his work on the series in years past. Throughout the evening, his Parts Unknown colleagues accepted the numerous awards wins on behalf of Bourdain while paying tribute to Bourdain in their acceptance speeches. Backstage, executive producer of Explore Parts Unknown, Nathan Thornburgh, acknowledged how crucial the public's support has been in getting through the time since Bourdain's death, per Variety.
Despite the show initially being set to expire on the streaming service, you can still check out Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown on Netflix, along with other series. As for the twelfth and final season of the CNN series, it will join a multitude of other shows that are set to air this fall. And fans will not have to wait much longer to see it. Parts Unknown Season 12 will premiere Sunday, September 23 at 9 p.m. ET on CNN.
