CNN To Devote Weekend Paying Tribute To Anthony Bourdain

CNN just announced it will remember “our friend and colleague Anthony Bourdain this weekend by sharing his talent and stories. Rest in peace, @Bourdain.”

The network is producing a tribute, Remembering Anthony Bourdain to air tonight at 10 PM ET.

Saturday, the cable news network will air a night of Bourdain’s favorite episodes of his series Parts Unknown, starting at 8 PM ET.

Sunday, the previously scheduled episode of Parts Unknown, in which Bourdain traveled to Berlin, will air as scheduled at 9 PM ET, with a special introduction by Anderson Cooper. It will be followed by a repeat of Remembering Anthony Bourdain at 10 PM ET on Sunday.

The Berlin episode is the sixth of Parts Unknown’s 11th season. This season premiered on April 29, with a special extended episode touring West Virginia.

Since Bourdain joined CNN five years ago, the network has aired his highly rated, much awarded series in eight-episode seasons, with season’s in both spring and fall. CNN describes Sunday’s episode:

In Berlin – an anomaly among German metropolises – Bourdain encounters an extremely accepting society, teeming with unbridled creativity, despite a grim history. Against the backdrop of Berlin Wall remnants, the host communes with musician Anton Newcombe (Brian Jonestown Massacre) for a home-cooked meal, and electronic artist Ellen Allien over a lunch of sausage made from chicken, pigs feet and sage at Michelberger. Bourdain also mixes in with photographers, club bouncers, cabaret owners, and historians, to discuss this city’s unparalleled culture.

The two remaining episodes of this season feature Mardi Gras and Bhutan.

Bourdain was found this morning in his hotel room in Strasbourg, France by a close friend, French chef Eric Ripert, as he was filming an episode for Season 12.

This morning, viewers across the cable news landscape were reminded in various reports, of the risk CNN and culinary star Bourdain took when he joined the breaking-news network five years ago.