Channel 4 Orders New Levison Wood Series

LONDON: Channel 4 has picked up Walking the Americas, its third major series with explorer Levison Wood.

Co-produced by October Films and GroupM Entertainment, Walking the Americas sees Levison trek 1,700 miles along the spine of the Americas from Mexico to Colombia. The series will broadcast early next year.

Throughout the expedition, Levison will experience the ancient Mayan ruins in Guatemala and Honduras, the wildlife of Costa Rica’s cloud forests, Nicaragua’s active volcanoes and the Panama Canal. In addition to exploring nature, he will interact with the people living throughout the region. Before reaching his final destination, Levison will attempt to cross the challenging Darien Gap.

Levison will film the new series himself, as he did for his previous documentary series, Walking the Nile and Walking the Himalayas. A television crew will visit at key points of the journey.

Wood said: “For this new expedition, I wanted to take a different approach and explore an area of the world which I’ve not encountered before. It will be a new challenge for me, out of my comfort zone and spending time with people living vastly different lives, from hunting and foraging in the dense jungle to the daily struggle of life in some of the world’s most dangerous cities. And at the end of it all, to attempt to cross one of the most impenetrable borders on Earth, the Darien Gap route, into South America.”

John Hay, the commissioning editor for Channel 4, commented, “Lev and October have found a way to make adventure programming that feels more raw, real and exciting than anything I’ve seen before, and I’m delighted that he’s going to be opening up another part of the world for us this year.”

Jos Cushing, executive producer for October Films, added: “Lev’s previous expeditions have provided some of the most incredible moments of television I’ve been involved with, and have struck a real chord with viewers watching the series and on social media. Walking the Americas will be a worthy successor, as Lev will provide a ground-level insight into this fascinating area of the world.”

Tony Moulsdale, the director of programming for GroupM Entertainment, said, “Lev has brought the most authentic approach to adventure programming in his previous series. Walking the Americas will be incredibly challenging for him but ultimately a captivating and rewarding experience for viewers.”