Travel shows are the only thing I watch for fun these days.
Many factors have led to this choice, with the most obvious being our collective inability to travel anywhere during this pandemic. But other contributing factors certainly include the logistical aspect of most good shows halting production (and not returning this fall) or the primal need to zone out with the continuing collapse of this country.
Bleak times make for a desire to vicariously experience the greatness of somewhere else.
Most of my travel-watching has consisted of old Anthony Bourdain episodes from his various shows as well as YouTube upstarts, such as Johnny Harris, who got their footage before the shutdown.
But as a perennial Netflix watcher, I figured I’d also see what the subscription service has to offer.

As with many travel show projects of the past, Netflix’s offerings feature diverse settings but suffer from a lack of diverse hosts. Unfortunately, most of the list below features white men explaining cultures across the globe ― and I left out some recent white-man-explains-the-world Netflix shows by Zac Efron and Paul Hollywood.
In a vacuum, each of these shows is worth watching, but as a whole, it’s not an adequately diverse collection from Netflix for a subject that demands nuance and sensitivity. Hopefully, Netflix works on remedying this if we ever reach a post-pandemic time.
For now, the list below offers a few different and entertaining glimpses at the globe for your vicarious viewing pleasure. If you’re getting increasingly restless on your couch like me, give these a shot.
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“Jack Whitehall: Travels With My Father” (Netflix Original)
Premise: The laid-back comedian Jack Whitehall travels the globe with (as you can guess from the title) his father, who has an uptight attitude and a penchant for fine clothing. While the two have a stark contrast in personalities that causes an inherent humor, the father is still adept at making jokes like his son.
Runtime: 15 episodes of roughly 30 or 60 minutes