Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown is scheduled to leave Netflix next week, but after Bourdain’s tragic passing fans are petitioning CNN and Netflix to keep it on a bit longer.
Bourdain, who was found dead by suicide in a hotel room in France on Friday morning, was beloved for his nuanced approach to travel and food TV, most recently on CNN’s Parts Unknown.
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However, fans interested in watching a few episodes of the show don’t have long. Parts Unknown is one of the programs scheduled to leave Netflix’s catalogue this month, making room for new selections. The show is supposed to be off on Saturday, June 16 according to a report by Vulture.
Dear @netflix, seasons 1 through 8 of Anthony Bourdain’s “Parts Unknown” will leave Netflix on June 16, 2018. Can you add an extension to that date for the new generation? In this toxic political climate, we have to spread content that promotes authentic human connection. https://t.co/iD1ScJNVgO
— Wilkine Brutus (@wilkinebrutus) June 8, 2018
Fans are hoping that, in the light of Bourdain’s passing, the show will remain available a little longer. Already there has been mass outcry on Twitter and other social media platforms. Now, a Change.org petition is asking Netflix directly to work out a licensing agreement and keep Parts Unknown on their site.
“Anthony Bourdain is an iconic chef, an insightful author an inimitable human,” wrote Tanner Palin, who started the campaign. “Those who see his show understand that all of us, from across countries, classes, cultures, or creeds are far more alike, than we are different.”
Palin praised the unique power of Parts Unknown to examine the world through Bourdain’s eyes. The show defied Eurocentric preconceptions and taught audiences to travel with respect to other cultures and keep an open mind.
“His irreverent individualism fashioned real connections, with real people,” Palin wrote. “Bourdain lived life like he treated so many of the dishes he consumed. By gnawing it to the bone. So many of us could learn to live just a little more like that.”
Finally, he ended with a plea addressed to the streaming service.
“Netflix, this show isn’t just entertaining. It is heartwarming, it is honest and it benefits human kind. Please keep it on the air.”
For the show to stay in Netflix’s catalogue, the company would have to reach a mutually beneficial agreement with CNN, the network that originally aired the show. There’s no word on what that might entail for either of them, as those negotiations would likely happen behind closed doors. However, given the massive impact of Bourdain’s life and the sudden tragedy of his death felt across the world, it could be a no-brainer for both Netflix and CNN.
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