Every Season of Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown, Ranked

Anthony Bourdain left this world eight years ago, but his legacy lives through the quality content he put out to the world. The celebrity chef was a travel documentarian who explored international culture and interacted with people from all across the world. His first travel show, A Cook’s Tour, ran for 35 episodes. He also came up with Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations and The Layover on the Travel Channel.

One of his best TV shows, Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown, emerged from his partnership with CNN. Sadly, it was while filming for this show in France that he died by suicide at the age of 61. Bourdain’s travelogue show consists of some great episodes across its 12 seasons. It won 12 Primetime Emmy Awards out of 31 nominations. If you are overwhelmed by the content, here are all the seasons of Parts Unknown ranked, so that you can pick the best ones first.

12 Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown Season 11

Release Date

April 29-June 24, 2018

Episodes

1. West Virginia
2. Uruguay
3. Newfoundland
4. Armenia
5. Hong Kong
6. Berlin
7. Cajun Mardi Gras
8. Bhutan

Best Episode

Newfoundland (IMDb Score as of June 9, 2026: 8.7/10)

Season 11 finds Bourdain at his most reflective, roaming West Virginia coal country, Uruguay, Armenia, Berlin, Bhutan, and Cajun Louisiana. In the premiere, he broke bread with the Trump-voting miners in West Virginia. Bourdain actually shot a Hong Kong episode, but it was later pulled by CNN. Director Darren Aronofsky joined him in Bhutan. The standout, Newfoundland, captures the wind-battered island’s warmth and dark humor. Sadly, much of the season aired in the weeks around his June 2018 death.

11 Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown Season 7

Release Date

April 24-June 5, 2016

Episodes

1. Prime Cuts: Season Six
2. Manila, Philippines
3. Chicago
4. The Greek Islands
5. Montana
6. Tbilisi, Georgia
7. Senegal
8. Cologne, Germany

Best Episode

Manila, Philippines (IMDb Score as of June 9, 2026: 8.2/10)

In this season, Bourdain travelled from Chicago’s working-class kitchens to the Greek island of Naxos, Tbilisi, Senegal, Montana, and Cologne. The emotional premiere that made Bourdain shed tears took place in Manila. The episode is a tender look at Filipino hospitality. In Montana, Bourdain shared a meal and conversation with novelist Jim Harrison in one of the writer’s final interviews. Senegal earned the show an editing Emmy, while the Greek Islands episode offered sun-soaked simplicity.

10 Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown Season 9

Release Date

April 23-July 2, 2017

Episodes

1. Prime Cuts: Season Eight
2. Los Angeles
3. San Sebastian
4. Laos
5. Queens
6. Antarctica
7. Oman
8. Trinidad
9. Porto, Portugal

Best Episode

Porto, Portugal (IMDb Score as of June 9, 2026: 8.4/10)

Season 9 is a globe-spanning set, which kicked off from an immigrant-focused Los Angeles and took you all the way to Portugal. Bourdain pushed into unusual territory, eating among researchers at a remote Antarctic station. In Laos, he sat with a man maimed by unexploded American ordnance. The Los Angeles premiere lent a voice to undocumented communities and deportation anxieties. The Porto episode is pure pleasure with Francesinha sandwiches, port houses, and faded grandeur along the Douro.

9 Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown Season 6

Release Date

September 27-November 15, 2015

Episodes

1. Prime Cuts: Season Five
2. Cuba
3. Marseille, France
4. Okinawa, Japan
5. Bay Area
6. Ethiopia
7. Borneo
8. Istanbul
9. Charleston, South Carolina

Best Episode

Marseille, France (IMDb Score as of June 9, 2026: 8.2/10)

Season 6 opens in a thawing Cuba and travels to Okinawa, the Bay Area, Ethiopia, Borneo, Istanbul, and Charleston. Eric Ripert joined Bourdain in Marseille for the season’s finest hour. Chef Marcus Samuelsson guided the Ethiopia episode through his birth country, while Sean Brock hosted a Lowcountry feast in Charleston. In Borneo, Bourdain returned to receive a traditional Iban tattoo. The introspective episode earned the show a writing Emmy nomination. Cuba’s cinematography drew critical acclaim as well.

8 Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown Season 10

Release Date

October 1-November 26, 2017

Episodes

1. Singapore
2. French Alps
3. Lagos, Nigeria
4. Pittsburgh
5. Sri Lanka
6. Puerto Rico
7. Seattle
8. Southern Italy

Best Episode

French Alps (IMDb Score as of June 9, 2026: 8.1/10)

Season 10 also takes you across continents from Singapore’s hawker stalls to the French Alps. The latter episode reunited Bourdain with Eric Ripert for the season’s best episode as the duo tried cuisines around Chamonix. Francis Ford Coppola appeared in the Southern Italy episode, which earned the show a writing Emmy. The episode set in Lagos also swept several technical Emmy wins. The biggest audience numbers came for the Puerto Rico episode, which showed the island’s debt crisis and the aftermath of Hurricane Maria.

7 Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown Season 1

Release Date

April 14-June 9, 2013

Episodes

1. Myanmar
2. Koreatown, Los Angeles
3. Colombia
4. Canada
5. Morocco (Tangier)
6. Libya
7. Peru
8. Congo

Best Episode

Canada (IMDb Score as of June 9, 2026: 8.4/10)

Anthony Bourdain’s CNN debut established the show’s voice, taking viewers across Myanmar, Colombia, Tangier, Libya, Peru, Congo, and Koreatown. Bourdain leaned into the politics as much as the culture. The Libya episode probed post-Gaddafi uncertainty. The Congo finale chased his Heart of Darkness fixation up the river. Eric Ripert tagged along in Peru. The season won a Peabody and multiple Emmys, with Myanmar taking cinematography honors. The best episode, Quebec, is a joyously excessive feast with Montreal’s hard-living chefs.

6 Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown Season 5

Release Date

April 26-June 21, 2015

Episodes

1. Prime Cuts: Season Four
2. Korea
3. Miami
4. Scotland
5. Madagascar
6. New Jersey
7. Budapest
8. Hawaii
9. Beirut

Best Episode

Scotland (IMDb Score as of June 9, 2026: 8.1/10)

Bourdain kicked off the season with a narration of South Korean history, told in reverse chronology. He then visits Miami, Madagascar, New Jersey, Budapest, Hawaii, and Beirut. Director Darren Aronofsky accompanied Bourdain through Madagascar. The New Jersey episode turned personal, reuniting him with his brother in their childhood home state. The Beirut finale returned to a city that had shaped him during the 2006 war. The best episode, Scotland, takes you through a memorable whisky tour across Glasgow.

5 Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown Season 4

Release Date

September 28-November 16, 2014

Episodes

1. Prime Cuts: Season Three
2. Shanghai
3. The Bronx
4. Paraguay
5. Vietnam
6. Tarzania
7. Iran
8. Massachusetts
9. Jamaica

Best Episode

Iran (IMDb Score as of June 9, 2026: 8.8/10)

Season 4’s defining hour is Iran, which is one of the highest-rated episodes of the show. It portrays how the ordinary Iranians’ warmth is very different from the oppressive state they are in. Bourdain dined with journalist Jason Rezaian and his wife, who were arrested days after filming, with Rezaian later imprisoned for well over a year. The episode won Best Editing and a writing nomination at the Emmys. As Bourdain revisited Provincetown in the Massachusetts episode, he confronted his past heroin addiction.

4 Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown Season 3

Release Date

April 13-June 8, 2014

Episodes

1. Prime Cuts: Season Two
2. Punjab, India
3. Las Vegas
4. Lyon
5. Mexico
6. Russia
7. Mississippi Delta
8. Thailand
9. Bahia, Brazil

Best Episode

Lyon (IMDb Score as of June 9, 2026: 8.8/10)

Season 3 stretches from Punjab and Mexico City to Las Vegas, Russia, and the Mississippi Delta. The standout is Lyon, where Bourdain toured France’s gastronomic capital with native son Daniel Boulud. He also paid homage to the legendary Paul Bocuse. The Russia episode, filmed on the eve of the Sochi Olympics with sidekick Zamir Gotta, remained light even amidst the political unease. Mexico delivered a passionate defense of the country’s cuisine and people. The Mississippi Delta episode offered a soulful look at Southern cuisines.

3 Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown Season 12

Release Date

September 23-November 11, 2018

Episodes

1. Kenya
2. Asturias, Spain
3. Indonesia
4. Tony’s Impact
5. Far West Texas
6. Under the Tarp
7. Lower East Side

Best Episode

Asturias, Spain (IMDb Score as of June 9, 2026: 8.6/10)

The posthumous seven-episode final season pays tribute to Bourdain. Only the Kenya premiere, made with comedian W. Kamau Bell, was fully finished before Bourdain’s death. The episode won him a posthumous writing Emmy. Asturias, Indonesia, and Far West Texas were completed using guests’ narration. The other two episodes were dedicated to the travel documentarian. The Lower East Side finale brought the show full circle to New York, closing with a Johnny Thunders cover featuring Bourdain’s daughter’s vocals.

2 Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown Season 2

Release Date

September 15-November 10, 2013

Episodes

1. Prime Cuts: Season One
2. Jerusalem
3. Spain
4. New Mexico
5. Copenhagen
6. Sicily
7. South Africa
8. Tokyo
9. Detroit

Best Episode

Detroit (IMDb Score as of June 9, 2026: 8.2/10)

Season 2 was perhaps Bourdain’s most ambitious. The Jerusalem episode, covering Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza, was one of the show’s boldest episodes. René Redzepi opened up Copenhagen’s New Nordic scene. Tokyo explored the city’s darker corners and won an editing Emmy. Sicily produced an infamous, dispiriting scene in which the crew tossed a dead octopus into the sea for the cameras. The best episode, Detroit, is a moving tribute to a great American city’s decline and resilience.

1 Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown Season 8

Release Date

September 24-December 4, 2016

Episodes

1. Prime Cuts: Season Seven
2. Hanoi
3. Nashville
4. Sichuan
5. London
6. Houston
7. Japan with Masa
8. Buenos Aires
9. Minas Gerais, Brazil
10. Rome

Best Episode

Japan with Masa (IMDb Score as of June 9, 2026: 8.6/10)

Season 8 is arguably the series’s peak, packed with landmark destinations like Hanoi, Nashville, Sichuan, London, Houston, Buenos Aires, Rome, and Minas Gerais. Its most famous moment is Bourdain sharing bun cha and cheap beer with President Barack Obama on plastic stools in Hanoi. The Buenos Aires episode is remarkable for placing Bourdain on a therapist’s couch to discuss his restlessness and unhappiness. Bourdain made Eric Ripert suffer gloriously through their Sichuan tour. The best episode, Japan with Masa, is an intimate homecoming with chef Masa Takayama. Few seasons match this one’s range, depth, and star power.

Ranking	Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown Seasons
1	Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown Season 8
2	Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown Season 2
3	Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown Season 12
4	Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown Season 3
5	Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown Season 4
6	Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown Season 5
7	Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown Season 1
8	Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown Season 10
9	Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown Season 6
10	Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown Season 9
11	Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown Season 7
12	Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown Season 11

Which season do you think was the best in Parts Unknown? Let us know in the comments below!

Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown episodes are now available for streaming on HBO Max.