The premise of The Reluctant Traveler is a simple one. There’s a traveler and he’s reluctant, you see. But’s he’s also much more than that.
That’s because the titular reluctant traveler in this Apple TV+ docuseries is none other than comedy legend Eugene Levy. Levy’s prolific career has spanned decades – from his time on the Canadian sketch series SCTV to his many roles in Christopher Guest’s collection of mockumentaries to his most recent Emmy award-winning portrayal of Johnny Rose in Schitt’s Creek, the sitcom created by his son Dan Levy. Through all of these onscreen adventures, however, Levy never quite caught the travel bug. The Reluctant Traveler season 1 sought to rectify that by forcing him into locales like Costa Rica, Italy, Japan, and more.
The Reluctant Traveler season 2 keeps that same format in place, albeit with some tweaks. Instead of spanning the globe this time around, production takes Levy on his own European vacation with stops in Sweden for a midsummer festival to the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula and everywhere in-between. Den of Geek spoke with Levy and series producer David Brindley about the more limited scope of the season.
“In season 1, Eugene says that he feels like he’s become a junior member of the world traveler club. So we wanted season 2 to feel like the next step,” Brindley said. “So many people talk about doing Europe. And this was a Europe that not many people would choose immediately. It wasn’t London, Rome, and Paris. It’s not the big cities. It’s actually slightly off the beaten track.”
“I was excited thinking it was London, Paris, and Rome,” Levy joked. “But it all works out in the end.”
The other distinctive element of The Reluctant Traveler season 2 is how damn fly Levy looks all the time. Whether circumstances bring him out into the Scottish countryside to fish for salmon or sip tea in an opulent European estate, he is always dressed for the occasion. Seriously, just look at some of these fits:
That collection isn’t from a magazine shoot. Those are merely the looks that this 77-year-old man with striking eyebrows is serving across Europe in The Reluctant Traveler. Eugene Levy quite simply has that shit on. But he and Brindley ultimately credit series costume designer and stylist Erica Cloud for the sartorial vision.
“She comes up with a bunch of stuff,” Levy said. “We go over and pick out what we think will be appropriate. It wouldn’t be up to just me. Don’t leave that thing up to me! Because you’re not gonna get a good enough look.”
“We send Erica shots of the hotel, some of the places we’re gonna go, and some of the activities we’re gonna do and she comes back with a palette for each episode,” Brindley added. “For each place that (Eugene) has gone, the palette is just completely uniform and really striking. We try to go for a particular look with each episode.”
The Reluctant Traveler‘s commitment to stylistic fidelity extends to season 2’s most personal outing. In episode 2 “Scotland: My Mother’s Country,” Levy travels to Glasgow for the first time to get a sense of his mother’s family history and even receives a handmade kilt with her clan’s distinctive tartan pattern.
“That episode kind of took me by surprise,” Levy said. “My mom was born in Scotland but I never really had a drive to go. When I got there I found out there was a whole genealogy thing that was gonna be happening. I’m glad I made that connection and I definitely felt that pulling of that end – my mom and her side of the family.”
Travel documentaries have been a part of the TV landscape for quite awhile and it’s challenging to find a way to stand out within the genre. Putting Canada’s sweetheart in bespoke suits and getting him back in touch with his family tree just might be one way to do so.
The first two episodes of The Reluctant Traveler season 2 are available to stream on Apple TV+ now. New episodes premiere Fridays.
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