Eugene Levy Talks Elephant Stool Samples & “Discovering A Sense Of Confidence” On Apple TV+ Travelog ‘The Reluctant Traveler’
deadline.comSchitt’s Creek co-creator Eugene Levy has opened up about revealing his authentic, non-adventurous side in Apple TV+’s The Reluctant Traveler, which he said gave him “a sense of confidence.” In The Reluctant Traveler, which debuts on Friday, Levy is taken out of his comfort zone as he travels the world visiting dangerous places and partaking in activities such as taking a stool sample from an elephant.
Reluctant Traveler EP David Brindley revealed that himself, Apple and Levy’s agent had initially wanted Levy to front a more traditional travelog but pivoted the idea somewhat to suit his reluctance to traverse the globe. “You constantly strive for authenticity in TV so the show we originally pitched would never have worked,” said Brindley, who is Chief Creative Officer of ITV Studios-backed Reluctant Traveler producer Twofour. “We had to build this around Eugene’s authentic experience.” The multi-Emmy winner, who created Canadian smash hit Schitt’s Creek with son Dan Levy, described himself as having a “low sense of adventure” and being “very low on the curiosity side.” “You need these attributes to host a travel show so when they asked me to do it I thanked them but said they can find someone better,” he added. “But they kept coming to me with the reasons why The Reluctant Traveler would work and eventually it made sense to me as long as I could be myself and didn’t have to pretend I love traveling.” In The Reluctant Traveler, which was one of the first Apple unscripted shows to come out of the UK, Levy explores places, cultures and hotels in the likes of Costa Rica, Finland, Italy, Japan, the Maldives, Portugal and South Africa.
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