Andrew Zimmern Has A New Show Coming To Magnolia Network

Andrew Zimmern has left all of the journeys for his Bizarre Foods shows squarely behind him as he looks ahead to a new style of programming, created by his own production company. First, in early 2020, MSNBC aired What's Eating America (via Intuitive Content). Over five episodes, that show used food as a way to approach some of America's more serious social problems. Next, Zimmern fans will find him on the new Magnolia Network, which will debut this year. 

The show is called Family Dinner, and the premise is just that simple. This time around, Zimmern confines his travels to the United States. He sits down in dining rooms and at backyard barbecues with strangers, allowing families to tell their stories with their words and their food. Judging from an eight-minute preview released by Magnolia and available on YouTube, Zimmern's new show will make you laugh, it'll make you cry, and it'll help you get to know some of the people who make up the diverse cast of characters in America.

In new show, Zimmern connects with families over the dinner table

Andrew Zimmern describes his new show in the preview, released on Magnolia's YouTube channel as the new network weathers a delay in its launch caused by the COVID-19 pandemic (via House Beautiful). "I spend so much time with people who, at the beginning of the day, are strangers," Zimmern said, "sharing something very sacred and intimate – a meal in their home."

Take for example Zimmern's meal with the Rodriguez family. Laura Rodriguez left her children behind in Guadalajara, Mexico, to find restaurant work and a better life in Iowa, and eventually bring her children there. She was finally able to do that, four years later. She had never told her children how hard it was for her to leave them, if only temporarily until they all sat down to dinner with Zimmern. The confession brought tears to her daughter's eyes.

"The gratitude that I have for being in that chair at that time, sharing the food of her grandmothers' grandmothers while she was sharing a piece of truth with her family for the first time ... I'm actually addicted to it," Zimmern said.

The Magnolia Network will start airing episodes of its flagship show, a reboot of Chip and Joanna Gaines' Fixer Upper, on January 29 on discovery+ (via People). Stay tuned for word on when Family Dinner will hit the streaming service or cable.