Marcus Samuelsson, chef, restaurateur, and TV personality, is adding another notch to his belt (or, um, a new fold on his chef’s hat?) with the premiere of his new show tonight. Produced by Eater, No Passport Required is slated to air at 9 p.m. Tuesdays on PBS.
Each of the show’s six episodes will pivot around an American city and an immigrant community that flourishes in the area. Tonight’s installment shines a spotlight on the vast and vibrant Middle Eastern diaspora in Detroit and Dearborn, Michigan. Upcoming episodes will feature: the Vietnamese community in New Orleans, the Mexican community in Chicago, the Indo-Guyanese enclaves of Queens, New York, the Haitian community in Miami, and the Ethiopian community centered in Washington, D.C.
The show organizes itself around food and the way people, families, and communities construct meaning and relationships around acts of eating. “As an immigrant myself [born in Ethiopia, raised in Sweden, and now living in Harlem] it is a dream to be a part of a show that shines light on the food culture of immigrant communities all around us," Samuelsson shares in an interview with Eater. "I love nothing more than heading to a new city and making my way to a local market or being invited into a family home for dinner. My hope is that the program helps show people how similar we all are—something that I think is incredibly important in our current climate. Through these moments we’ve captured, it’s my hope that people feel connected and invited into a community they may not know.”
Check out some behind-the-scenes updates about the show from Samuelsson himself, via his Instagram:
To watch tonight’s episode, tune in to PBS or stream episodes online at PBS or Eater.
Written by: Valerio Farris
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