Samantha Brown: Globe-trotting TV host Samantha Brown loves Houston in new season

By Eric Sandler

Samantha Brown Kam Franklin

Kam Franklin takes Samantha Brown rollerskating. Courtesy of PBS
Samantha Brown Blood Bros. BBQ Robin Terry Wong Quy Hoang

Eating barbecue with the Blood Bros. Courtesy of PBS
Samantha Brown Anna Lee Fisher

Dr. Anna Lee Fisher shows Samantha around NASA. Courtesy of PBS
Samantha Brown Ziggy Gruber

Samantha makes blintzes with Ziggy Gruber. Courtesy of PBS
Samantha Brown Kam Franklin
Samantha Brown Blood Bros. BBQ Robin Terry Wong Quy Hoang
Samantha Brown Anna Lee Fisher
Samantha Brown Ziggy Gruber

Globe-trotting television host Samantha Brown returns to Houston in Season 5 of her Emmy winning PBS series Samantha Brown’s Places to Love. Focused exclusively on domestic destinations, the Bayou City will be featured in the fourth of the season’s eight episodes.

“Traveling again to shoot Season 5 as people were emerging from social isolation truly reinforced for me the meaning of travel and our deep need for it, a journey for me that was as personal and joyful as I hope it will be for viewers,” Brown said in a statement. “This season it was important to me to introduce my audience to the people who are changing and enriching each destination, and connect with them in the places they love and call home.”

Filmed in July, Brown blitzes through a number of locations across Houston. Viewers will watch her dine at Kenny & Ziggy’s and Blood Bros. BBQ. She tours NASA with astronaut Dr. Anna Lee Fisher, the first mother in space.

Other destinations include island-themed bar White Rhino, the Fourth Ward’s historic Antioch Missionary Baptist Church, and the stunning BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir. The episode ends on a lighthearted note as Brown goes rollerskating with Kam Franklin, lead singer of popular Houston band The Suffers.

Previously, Brown visited Houston during season one of Places to Love. That episode featured a cooking segment with James Beard Award winner Hugo Ortega and a performance by The Suffers.

Season 5 begins in Ashville, North Carolina and continues with stops in Cape May, New Jersey; New York’s Genesee River Valley; Louisville, Kentucky; Colorado Springs, Colorado; San Antonio, and Boston. Episode four is scheduled for January 29, but viewers should check local listings to confirm.

Read more here.