When it came time to launch a new travel show for Apple TV+, executive producer David Brindley knew it had to be something different.
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The television landscape has become loaded with picturesque shows across all corners of the globe with hosts who couldn’t wait to get to the next adventure.
Enter Eugene Levy, the Schitt’s Creek star who describes himself as a lover of the great indoors. Travel and adventure are not in his blood, Levy says.
So naturally, Levy is exactly who Brindley wanted for his show.
“There’s a lot of travel shows around the world, and rightly so. They’re gorgeous and they’re escapist and they’re beautiful,” Brindley told the Associated Press. “But launching a new one, you want to find something that has a unique selling point, that has the chance to do something a tiny bit different that will just grab people’s attention and also that feels relatable.”
The Reluctant Traveler with Eugene Levy dropped this week on Apple TV+. All eight episodes are available, as Levy travels the world and hosts with his signature droll reluctance as a key ingredient.
Levy travels to Costa Rica, Finland, Japan, Maldives, Portugal, South Africa, and the United States, giving viewers a glimpse at some adventures they may not have known about. Levy and his crew explore hotels, places, and cultures with his unique take on the world.
In Lisbon, Levy learns to make peri-peri sauce and goes sailing and tile painting. In South Africa, he stays in a train hotel above Kruger National Park and explores wildlife. Levy journeys into the jungles of Costa Rica and all of the wildlife it includes.
At times, it’s a little much for the SCTV and American Pie veteran.
“Not only do I not love traveling, I’ve got a very low sense of curiosity,” he said. “I do not have an adventurous spirit. And I’m actually thinking, well, aren’t those things you need to host a travel show?”
The series was filmed over a long period, as Levy would film two adventures over 2 weeks, then take a couple of months off to gear up for the next trips.
“I’m hoping this appeals to seasoned travelers that might watch this and chuckle,” he said. “But also to people who, like me, don’t travel extensively, are not fond of traveling, don’t have that sense of adventure, so to speak — that they will see me as a kindred spirit.”
The series is available at no cost to Apple TV+ subscribers, with all episodes available now. Whether there will be a subsequent season has yet to be announced.
“We’ll see how the viewers take to it,” Levy said.
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