CNN is pursuing more original series, specifically the global travel feature programming that proved so popular with Anthony Bourdain’s “Parts Unknown.”
It’s a smart strategy, certainly better than an Anderson Cooper-hosted quiz show. Next up, Bill Weir ticks off “The Wonder List,” hiking through swamps, climbing mountains and visiting disappearing places on earth to catch the scenery and natives before modernization/climate change/tourism intrude. First on the correspondent’s list: the Pacific islands of Vanuatu on Sunday’s premiere, locally at 8 p.m. on CNN.
“Be careful what you wish for,” Weir tells one islander who is considering selling the unspoiled paradise to outsiders who envision hotels and restaurants on the beaches. He weighs the practice of paying tribesmen to pose for pictures, cracks jokes about beer and generally brings an iPad-equipped Western attitude into the wilds.
Weir’s eight-episode photo safari will take in the Galapagos, the Greek island Ikaria, the melting glaciers of the Alps, the sinking city of Venice and the endangered Everglades. — Joanne Ostrow, Denver Post TV Critic
Online: Read more Ostrow on “The Wonder List”
