CNN is planning a return to the travel-food genre after pulling back from original series under former CEO Chris Licht.
The channel said Wednesday that it would be rebooting its Searching For franchise, with Eva Longoria set to host a new series, Eva Longoria: Searching for Spain. The new series will debut in 2025 on CNN, with Hyphenate Media Group producing the program.
“I am thrilled to be partnering once again with CNN to bring this culinary and cultural journey through Spain to life,” said Longoria in a statement. “I have always been captivated by the people, energy, and vibrant culture of Spain, and I am excited to explore my own ties to this region and share the hidden gems that have helped make it a personal favorite.”
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It was Stanley Tucci who created the Searching For series with his Searching For Italy, despite winning Emmy Awards for three straight years, Licht canceled the show in late 2022 as part of a larger pullback in original series.
Tucci would go on to create a similar show for Disney’s Nat Geo called Tucci — The Heart of Italy, a year after his CNN show was canceled.
Longoria previously hosted the other series in the franchise, Eva Longoria: Searching For Mexico. It was originally created for the ill-fated CNN+ streaming service, and would get a linear run after that service was abruptly shuttered by Warner Bros. Discovery.
The announcement of the Spain-set spinoff suggests that CNN will look for other places to explore in the Searching For franchise, perhaps with other celebrity hosts.
Executive producers for Searching for Spain are Eva Longoria, Cris Abrego, Rachelle Mendez, and Shauna Minoprio for Hyphenate Media Group. Amy Entelis and Lyle Gamm are the executive producers for CNN Original Series. Banijay Rights will handle international distribution of the series.
CNN says that Searching for Mexico has a 25 percent Hispanic audience, the biggest composition of that demo for the network in over four years.
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