The Wonder List with Bill Weir

Last updated
The Wonder List with Bill Weir
Created by Bill Weir, Conor Hanna
Presented by Bill Weir
Country of originUnited States
No. of seasons4
No. of episodes25 (list of episodes)
Production
Cinematography Philip Bloom (Seasons 1 & 2)
Joe Simon (Season 3)
Running time60 minutes
Release
Original network CNN
CNN+
Original releaseMarch 1, 2015 (2015-03-01) 
April 21, 2022 (2022-04-21)

The Wonder List with Bill Weir is a CNN original documentary television series hosted by American journalist Bill Weir. The series debut was on March 1, 2015, with the first episode on Vanuatu. [1] CNN announced that it had commissioned a second series in shortly after the first series aired. [2] The third season aired on October 7, 2017. [3] [4] The first four episodes of the fourth season was released on CNN+ on April 21, 2022, just hours before it was announced the streaming service would be shut down the following week. [5] It is unclear if there are additional season four episodes and only the first three seasons are available on streaming.

Contents

The series entails Bill Weir telling the stories of people, places and cultures at a crossroads. [6] [7]

Episodes

SeasonEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
1 8March 1, 2015 (2015-03-01)April 12, 2015 (2015-04-12)
2 7April 15, 2016 (2016-04-15)December 18, 2016 (2016-12-18)
3 6October 7, 2017 (2017-10-07)November 11, 2017 (2017-11-11)
4 4April 21, 2022 (2022-04-21)

Season 1 (2015)

No.
overall
No. in
season
TitleOriginal air dateUS viewers
(millions)
11"Vanuatu: Landlords of Paradise"March 1, 2015 (2015-03-01)N/A
Environmental forces that are changing parts of the world are examined. The opener features a visit to Vanuatu, where native tribes confront factors that threaten the traditions of an ancient people. [8]
22"Galapagos: A Fight for Survival"March 8, 2015 (2015-03-08)N/A
A visit to the Galapagos Islands where naturalists fight to keep the natural habitat in balance and save endangered species from extinction.
33"Ikaria: The Island Where People Forget to Die"March 15, 2015 (2015-03-15)N/A
A visit to the remote Greek island of Ikaria where inhabitants live longer than most Americans and try to maintain their centuries old way of life in a modern world.
44"India: Tigers and the Taj"March 22, 2015 (2015-03-22)N/A
Weir visits the Taj Mahal in India and learns about conservation efforts to save the Bengal tiger.
55"The Dead Sea: Salt of the Earth"March 29, 2015 (2015-03-29)N/A
The fight to save the Dead Sea from drying up in Jordan and Israel due to border conflicts is examined.
66"Venice: Sink or Swim"April 5, 2015 (2015-04-05)N/A
A journey through the canals of Venice, where rising sea levels threaten the future of the historic city.
77"Everglades: A Fight for Glory"April 5, 2015 (2015-04-05)N/A
A visit to Florida's endangered Everglades.
88"The Alps: Fire and Ice"April 12, 2015 (2015-04-12)N/A
A visit to the Alps where glaciers are receding to examine what the stakes are if the melting continues.

Season 2 (2016)

No.
overall
No. in
season
TitleOriginal air dateUS viewers
(millions)
91"Cuba: Forbidden Island"March 20, 2016 (2016-03-20)N/A
Season 2 begins with a visit to Cuba where people are preparing for a tourist invasion.
102"Iceland: The Wedding Crash"March 27, 2016 (2016-03-27)N/A
A visit to Iceland, where two-thirds of babies are born to unmarried parents, to explore whether the nation will be the first country to completely let go of marriage.
113"The Colorado River: A Thirst for More"April 3, 2016 (2016-04-03)N/A
An examination of the Colorado River that sustains more than 40 million people in the West to see whether enough efforts are being made to see that it continues to flow, with populations booming and the waters receding.
124"Bhutan: The Happiest Place On Earth"April 10, 2016 (2016-04-10)N/A
The magical kingdom of Bhutan, "the happiest place on earth," is visited to see whether it can stay blissfully content as the modern world encroaches its borders.
135"Botswana: The Hunters & the Hunted"April 17, 2016 (2016-04-17)0.45 [9]
Weir goes on safari in Africa with naturalists fighting to save precious species from extinction.
146"Peru"December 11, 2016 (2016-12-11)N/A
Weir explores Peru.
157"The Future of Freedom"December 18, 2016 (2016-12-18)0.43 [10]
Bill Weir travels to Amsterdam, famed as one of the world's most liberal cities, to find out if this bastion of tolerance can stay that way amid a rising tide of intolerance.

Season 3 (2017)

No.
overall
No. in
season
TitleOriginal air dateUS viewers
(millions)
161"Patagonia: Paradise Bought"October 7, 2017 (2017-10-07)0.615 [11]
A report on late American conservationist Douglas Tompkins who purchased vast tracts of land in Patagonia, much to the dismay of local developers.
172"Madagascar: The Richest Poor Country in the World"October 14, 2017 (2017-10-14)N/A
A visit to Madagascar where deforestation rages and unique species vanish, and where a fight is brewing to save one of the planet's most special places before it is ruined forever.
183"Egypt: Sunken City of Pharaohs"October 21, 2017 (2017-10-21)N/A
Weir explores Egypt.
194"Alaska: Buried Treasure"October 28, 2017 (2017-10-28)N/A
Miners want to drill for billions of dollars worth of copper and gold beneath the pristine wilderness of America's last wild frontier but fishermen say the world's last great salmon run could be jeopardized.
205"New Zealand: Preying on the Predators"November 4, 2017 (2017-11-04)N/A
A look at predatory mammals in New Zealand.
216"Peru: The Curse of Incan Gold"November 11, 2017 (2017-11-11)N/A
A look at whether the fragile beauty of the Incan ruins of Machu Picchu can be protected from an ever-growing number of visitors.

Related Research Articles

<i>How the Universe Works</i> Documentary science television series

How the Universe Works is a documentary science television series that originally aired on the Discovery Channel in 2010. All but the second and eighth seasons were narrated by Mike Rowe. The second and eighth seasons, as well as episodes of the fifth and sixth seasons, were narrated by Erik Todd Dellums. The first season, broadcast from April 25 to May 24, 2010, was released on Blu-ray on February 28, 2012. Since its second season, consisting of eight episodes broadcast between July 11 and August 29, 2012, the show has aired on the Science Channel. The third season aired between July 9 and September 3, 2014. The fourth season premiered on July 14, 2015, as part of the Science Channel's "Space Week," in honor of New Horizons' flyby of Pluto that day; the season ran through September 1, 2015. The show's fifth season aired from November 22, 2016, through February 7, 2017. The sixth season premiered on January 9, 2018, and ran through March 13, 2018. The seventh season premiered on January 8, 2019. On December 30, 2019, it was announced that the eighth season would premiere on January 2, 2020. The ninth season premiered on March 24, 2021. The tenth season premiered on March 6, 2022. The eleventh season premiered on March 5, 2023.

<i>Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown</i> American television series

Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown is an American travel and food show on CNN which premiered on April 14, 2013. In the show, Anthony Bourdain travels the world uncovering lesser-known places and exploring their cultures and cuisine. The show won twelve Primetime Emmy Awards out of 31 nominations, as well as a 2013 Peabody Award. The digital series Explore Parts Unknown, an editorial partnership with Roads & Kingdoms, won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Short Form Nonfiction or Reality Series. Parts Unknown aired the last collection of episodes on CNN in the autumn of 2018. The series finale, titled "Lower East Side" — bringing Bourdain's culinary travelogue full circle back to Bourdain's hometown of New York — aired November 11, 2018.

<i>Botched</i> (TV series) American television series

Botched is an American reality television series that premiered on cable channel E! on June 24, 2014. It follows doctors Terry Dubrow and Paul Nassif as they "remedy extreme plastic surgeries gone wrong."

<i>Jay Lenos Garage</i> Television series

Jay Leno's Garage is an American web and television series about motor vehicles, primarily cars and motorbikes starring Jay Leno, the former host of The Tonight Show. Originally a web series for NBC.com, a special aired on CNBC in August 2014 and the show became a weekly prime-time series on the channel in 2015.

<i>Divorce</i> (TV series) American television series

Divorce is an American comedy-drama television series created by Sharon Horgan, set in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York, and starring Sarah Jessica Parker and Thomas Haden Church as a middle-aged divorcing couple. The series premiered on HBO on October 9, 2016. The pilot episode was written by Horgan and directed by Jesse Peretz. On November 14, 2016, HBO renewed the show for a second season, which premiered on January 14, 2018. On November 2, 2018, HBO renewed the show for a third season, which was later announced on its premiere date to be the final season.

The Food That Built America is an American nonfiction docudrama series for the History Channel, that premiered on August 11, 2019. Each episode tells a story behind the biggest food brands in the United States. The series have scenes that uses actors to dramatize historical events which are interspersed with commentary by culinary historians and other commentators.

References

  1. "Two New CNN Original Series Debut, Sunday, March 1st". CNN Press Room. 12 February 2015. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
  2. "CNN Adds Two Exciting Series To Successful Slate of Original Series". CNN Press Room. 13 May 2015. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
  3. "Season Three of the Wonder List with Bill Weir Premieres Saturday, Oct 7th at 9pm ET/PT". CNN Press Room. CNN. 6 September 2017. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
  4. "Bill Weir's The Wonder List ends". CNN Commentary. 13 November 2017. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
  5. "Breaking News - "The Wonder List with Bill Weir" Journeys to CNN+ with an All-New Season On April 21". The Futon Critic. April 7, 2022. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
  6. "Bill Weir checks off his 'Wonder List' for CNN". Los Angeles Times. 28 February 2015. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
  7. "The Wonder List: Behind the Shot first 6 BTS episodes". 13 March 2015.
  8. "The Wonder List with Bill Weir".
  9. "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 4.17.2016 | Showbuzz Daily". www.showbuzzdaily.com. Archived from the original on 21 April 2016. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  10. "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 12.18.2016 | Showbuzz Daily". www.showbuzzdaily.com. Archived from the original on 21 December 2016. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  11. "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Saturday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 10.7.2017 | Showbuzz Daily". www.showbuzzdaily.com. Archived from the original on 10 October 2017. Retrieved 17 January 2022.