Actually, on thinking about, I honestly didn't think Cooper was strong enough to be the lead in an ensemble. As part of an ensemble, I agree that he's perfectly charming, but the problem was that the supporting cast kept stealing scenes away from him without even trying. And the longer the show went on, the obvious it was that the other actors had stronger personalities.

I'm just baffled by the casting, because honestly Owen Yeoman would've been the better choice for the "Bourdain" role if they were going to so heavily fictionalize Bourdain anyway.