Tribune-owned cable network WGN America has picked up new reality show Around the World for Free, staring Alex Boylan, winner of the second season of CBS’ The Amazing Race.
Starting April 16, Boylan will attempt to travel around the entire world with only the backpack on his pack, help from the online community and no money. The one-hour show will air in high definition on Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET with an additional airing at midnight ET.
Around the World for Free was filmed by just one cameraman, Zsolt Luka, who tracked Boylan’s journey through countries such as Cambodia, Kenya, Peru, Tanzania, Thailand, Trinidad and Vietnam, over 159 days. Along the way, Boylan picked up many odd jobs as he worked to earn the money to continue his travels.
In addition to the TV show, Around the World For Free features bonus online content at www.aroundtheworldforfree.com. There, viewers will be able to watch unseen footage from the journey, participate in live chats with Alex and even help deserving charities that the crew visited on the journey.
“For the first season of Around the World For Free, we created one of the most advanced multi-platform shows to date. People all around the world joined together to become a single community in their quest to help Alex on his journey. WGN America’s understanding of this vision makes them the ideal partner for the TV distribution,” said creator and executive producer Burton Roberts.
