Outlets like the Travel Channel and NatGeo are clogged with all manner of travel programs, each taking their own off-road look at real, unfettered life in Thailand, Des Moines, or the North Pole. But Seeso’s new, Jonah Ray-helmed show Hidden America seeks to do something different: Make you laugh intentionally, and not just at how formulaic it seems when some buffed out, khaki-shorted bro gets all grossed out over eating bugs.
Though Hidden America does find Ray visiting real places all over the United States, including Chicago, San Francisco, Seattle, Boston, and New Orleans, the actual people he talks to in those towns aren’t so real. Rather, they’re characters played by some of comedians, improvisers, and actors including Randall Park, Laraine Newman, Ian Roberts, “Weird Al” Yankovic, Jay Johnston, Baron Vaughn, Brendon Small, and Bobcat Goldthwait. Written by a gang of writers who have penned projects like Mr. Show and Saturday Night Live, Hidden America promises to be an off-kilter look at both travel and reality shows when it premieres on Seeso June 2.