Rainn Wilson and the Geography of Bliss

Last updated
Rainn Wilson and the Geography of Bliss
GenreTravel documentary
Created by Casey Scharf
Based on The Geography of Bliss: One Grump's Search for the Happiest Places in the World by Eric Weiner
Directed by Niharika Desai
Presented by Rainn Wilson
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes5
Production
Executive producersMelissa Wood, Casey Scharf, Evan Rosenfeld, Jen Isaacson, Dave Sirulnick, Jon Kamen
CinematographyCarrie Cheek, Kyle Marchant
Production companiesPanama Hat, RadicalMedia, Dukes Up, Imperial Mammoth
Original release
Network Peacock
ReleaseMay 18, 2023 (2023-05-18)

Rainn Wilson and the Geography of Bliss is an American comedy documentary series that premiered on NBC's Peacock in May 2023 [1] and on MSNBC in July 2023. [2]

Contents

The series follows actor and comedian Rainn Wilson as he travels the world in search of the science and psychology of what makes some places happier than others.

The series was created and written by Casey Scharf and is based upon Eric Weiner's New York Times Best Selling book The Geography of Bliss: One Grump's Search for the Happiest Places in the World. [3]

Episodes

The first season consists of five, one-hour episodes.

Reception

Critical response

The series has a 100% rating on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , [4] with Fletcher Peters of The Daily Beast writing "Out of all the travel shows I’ve watched (besides Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown ), this is the most intriguing concept of the bunch." [5]

Accolades

In 2023, the series was nominated for a Critics' Choice Television Award [6] and a Realscreen Award. [7]

In 2024, the show's director, Niharika Desai, won the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Reality Programs for the series' premiere episode. [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rotten Tomatoes</span> American review aggregator for film and television

Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang. Although the name "Rotten Tomatoes" connects to the practice of audiences throwing rotten tomatoes in disapproval of a poor stage performance, the direct inspiration for the name from Duong, Lee, and Wang came from an equivalent scene in the 1992 Canadian film Léolo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rainn Wilson</span> American actor, comedian, producer, and writer (born 1966)

Rainn Percival Dietrich Wilson is an American actor, comedian, podcaster, producer, writer, and director best known for his role as Dwight Schrute on the NBC sitcom The Office (2005–2013), for which he received three consecutive Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kathryn Hahn</span> American actress (born 1973)

Kathryn Marie Hahn is an American actress and comedian. She began her career on television, starring as grief counselor Lily Lebowski in the NBC crime drama series Crossing Jordan (2001–2007). Hahn gained prominence appearing as a supporting actress in a number of comedy films, including How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (2003), Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004), Step Brothers (2008), The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard (2009), Our Idiot Brother (2011), We're the Millers and The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, and Glass Onion (2022).

Niharika Desai is a television editor and a VJ on MTV Desi.

Eric Weiner is an American author and public speaker. He is best known for The Geography of Bliss, Man Seeks God,The Geography of Genius and The Socrates Express. Weiner's books have been translated into more than 20 languages. He is a former foreign correspondent for NPR and the author of articles for travel and culture. He spent a decade overseas for NPR, based in New Delhi, Jerusalem and Tokyo.

Arthur Smith is a Canadian television producer who is the Chairman of A. Smith & Co. and Chairman of Tinopolis USA. Best known for the multiple Emmy nominated American Ninja Warrior and FOX's longest-running competition show Hell's Kitchen, he was inducted into the Realscreen Hall of Fame in 2021, and was named Producer of the Year 2020 by Broadcasting & Cable. He previously worked for CBC Sports, Dick Clark Productions, MCA Television Group, and Fox Sports Net. He has won multiple NAACP awards for his series Unsung, Rose D'Or Awards for I Survived A Japanese Game Show, a Critics' Choice Real TV Award, a Realscreen Award and multiple Reality Television Awards. In addition, his shows have been nominated for Daytime Emmys, Nickelodeon Kid's Choice Awards, Producers' Guild Awards and People's Choice Awards.

Sarah-Violet Bliss is an American screenwriter and director best known for writing and directing the independent comedy film Fort Tilden and the TBS dark comedy television series Search Party.

Ryan White is a documentary producer and director best known for his Netflix documentary film Pamela, a Love Story, Amazon Prime's Good Night Oppy, which won five Critics Choice Awards including Best Documentary and Best Director, and his Emmy-nominated Netflix series The Keepers. White's previous films include the HBO movie The Case Against 8, which won Sundance's Directing Award and was nominated for two Emmys, the documentary film Ask Dr. Ruth, and Coded, which was shortlisted for the Academy Award.

<i>Kevin Hart: What The Fit</i> American unscripted comedy series

Kevin Hart: What The Fit is an American unscripted comedy starring Kevin Hart that airs on the Laugh Out Loud (LOL) Network on YouTube Premium.

<i>Girls5eva</i> 2021 American musical comedy television series

Girls5eva is an American musical comedy television series created by Meredith Scardino that premiered on May 6, 2021, on Peacock. It follows four women who were part of a girl group named Girls5eva, which was briefly popular around the year 2000 before fading into one-hit-wonder status. Now unfulfilled in their various lives, they reunite to try to find musical success again. In June 2021, it was renewed for a second season which premiered on May 5, 2022.

Somebody Somewhere is an American comedy drama television series starring Bridget Everett and created by Hannah Bos and Paul Thureen. It premiered on HBO on January 16, 2022. In February 2022, the series was renewed for a second season, which premiered on April 23, 2023. In June 2023, the series was renewed for a third season.

<i>Selena + Chef</i> 2020 unscripted television series starring Selena Gomez

Selena + Chef is an American television cooking show hosted by Selena Gomez that premiered on HBO Max on August 13, 2020. The first season consists of 10 episodes. In August 2020, the series was renewed for a second season, which premiered on November 19, 2020, and continues into early 2021. In April 2021, the series was renewed for a third season which was released on October 28, 2021. In November 2021, the series was renewed for a fourth season which premiered on August 18, 2022. On October 2, 2023, it was announced that the series would return for a holiday special entitled Selena + Chef: Home for the Holidays that premiered on November 30, 2023 on Food Network.

<i>The Amber Ruffin Show</i> American late-night talk show

The Amber Ruffin Show is an American comedy late-night talk show. Produced by Universal Television and Sethmaker Shoemeyers Productions and starring Amber Ruffin, it features a mix of sketches and monologues. The series was ordered for nine half-hour episodes and premiered on NBCUniversal's video-streaming service Peacock on September 25, 2020. Peacock ordered an additional 10 episodes in December 2020, and the series was promoted with a brief run on the NBC broadcast network in February and March 2021. The third season premiered on September 30, 2022. In 2023, it was announced the program would only return on occasion as specials but these were never ordered.

<i>Dark Winds</i> 2022 American psychological thriller television series

Dark Winds is an American psychological thriller television series created by Graham Roland based on the Leaphorn & Chee novel series by Tony Hillerman. It premiered on AMC and AMC+ on June 12, 2022, with the first season consisting of six episodes. After its premiere, the series was renewed for a six-episode second season, which premiered on July 30, 2023. In September 2023, the series was renewed for a third season.

<i>Navalny</i> (film) 2022 American film

Navalny is a 2022 American documentary film directed by Daniel Roher. The film revolves around Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny and events related to his poisoning. It was produced by HBO Max and CNN Films. The film premiered on January 25, 2022 at the Sundance Film Festival, where it received critical and audience acclaim and won the Audience Award in the US Documentary competition and the Festival Favorite Award. It also won the Best Documentary Feature at the 95th Academy Awards, won the award for Best Political Documentary at the 7th Critics' Choice Documentary Awards and picked up best documentary at the 76th BAFTA awards ceremony.

<i>Lessons in Chemistry</i> 2023 television miniseries based on the novel by Bonnie Garmus

Lessons in Chemistry is an American historical drama miniseries developed by Lee Eisenberg, based on the novel of the same name by Bonnie Garmus. It stars Brie Larson as chemist Elizabeth Zott who begins hosting her own feminist cooking show in 1960s America.

<i>Mrs. Davis</i> American television limited series

Mrs. Davis is an American science fiction comedy drama television limited series created by Tara Hernandez and Damon Lindelof for Peacock. The series stars Betty Gilpin as a nun using her faith to take on technology, and a supporting cast including Jake McDorman, Margo Martindale, David Arquette and Elizabeth Marvel. It premiered at SXSW on March 11, 2023, before its debut on Peacock on April 20.

References

  1. "'The Office' star Rainn Wilson crisscrosses the globe in search of inner bliss for TV series". Associated Press News . 17 May 2023.
  2. "'Rainn Wilson and the Geography of Bliss' MSNBC Trailer". MSNBC .
  3. "'Rainn Wilson & the Geography of Bliss' Docuseries Travels to Peacock". 5 May 2022.
  4. "Rainn Wilson and the Geography of Bliss: Season 1 | Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes .
  5. Peters, Fletcher (20 May 2023). "Rainn Wilson's Travel Show is Sweeter Than It Has Any Right to be". The Daily Beast.
  6. "WINNERS ANNOUNCED FOR THE FIFTH ANNUAL CRITICS CHOICE REAL TV AWARDS – Critics Choice Awards".
  7. "Realscreen Awards ★ 2024 Winners & Nominees ★".
  8. "DGA Awards: Christopher Nolan, Celine Song, 'The Last of Us' & 'SNL' Among Big Winners – Full List". 11 February 2024.