Stanley Tucci’s Culinary Adventures to Continue in NatGeo’s The Heart of Italy After CNN Cancellation

Rebecca Iannucci

Stanley Tucci will sample even more of Europe’s tastiest carbohydrates — just not on CNN.

Exactly one year after Tucci shared that his CNN series Searching for Italy had been cancelled, National Geographic has greenlit Tucci — The Heart of Italy, a 10-part docuseries that will once again find Tucci uncovering the country’s culinary gems.

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Production will begin in January, following the actor as he “unlocks the distinct flavors that define each region and discovers the rich versatility of Italy through those he meets along the journey,” per the official logline. Tucci will travel to 10 Italian regions — including Sicily, Trentino-Alto Adige, Veneto, Marche and Lazio — seeking out the essence of each area and its people through the food they eat.

“National Geographic is all about adventure and exploration, and I am honored to take viewers once again to explore Italy through the lens of food,” Tucci said in a statement. “In Italy’s many distinct regions there is always something new to discover and I’m more than excited to begin the process in partnership with BBC Studios.”

Tucci’s previous culinary docuseries on CNN ran for two seasons in 2021 and 2022, in which he did similar exploration around Italy. But last December, Tucci revealed on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon that “CNN has cancelled all of their original programming,” including Searching for Italy, and he hoped to eventually resume the show on a new platform.

“Hopefully we’ll end up on another streamer, network — we don’t know,” Tucci said at the time. “But yes, I have plans to do Season 3 and more.”

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