BOSTON, MA (October 6, 2017) – Weekends with Yankee, the public television travel and lifestyle series featuring New England, has been tapped for a second season. Public-media powerhouse WGBH and Yankee magazine, the iconic publication that inspired the series, announced today that 13 half-hour episodes are slated to premiere in spring 2018, exploring more of the hidden gems, spectacular landscapes, and stunning sights of New England.
Weekends with Yankee will travel to all six New England states to film unique attractions, amazing adventures, and renowned artisans and chefs. The series is an insider’s guide from Yankee editors that provides privileged access for viewers to experience the best of the region’s richly textured sights, sounds, and flavors.
Emmy Award–winning explorer Richard Wiese returns as series co-host together with Yankee senior food editor Amy Traverso. This season, the duo embarks on separate journeys, which the series weaves together as the ultimate roadtrip through the region. Wiese is an adventurer who takes viewers into the field to experience secret treasures and the best of New England. A leading authority on New England cuisine, Traverso combines travel with edible experiences, serving as our essential guide in a culinary tour—from hunting for the best lobster roll in New England to searching for the “best little food town.” New for Season 2: an “In the Kitchen” segment, in which she provides cooking tips and expert advice designed to bring the best of the regional cuisine, seasonal cooking, flavors and ingredients of New England to viewers’ homes. The two-to-three-minute broadcast segments will also be posted online—along with recipes—at weekendswithyankee.com.
This season, Weekends with Yankee transports viewers to these locations and more:
• New Hampshire – enjoy spectacular landscapes while foraging with chef Evan Mallett in Portsmouth, hike to Hut Croos in the White Mountains, and visit the lakes region and Castle in the Clouds.
• Vermont – learn the art of everything from farmstead cheese making to breadmaking to craft beer microbrewing, and explore the Kingdom Trails on a mountain bike or relax in a serene tea garden.
• Massachusetts – survey the sharks off Cape Cod, take a trip to the cranberry bogs during harvest season, and enjoy a farm-to-table dinner on Chatham’s coast.
• Connecticut – soar over the state in a hot air balloon, and head to the ballpark in Norwich, home of the feeder league for the Detroit Tigers, for an authentic story about America’s pastime.
• Maine – go glamping with a twist in Kennebunkport, and discover The Lost Kitchen, a truly charming find.
• Rhode Island – catch the waves at Narragansett’s scenic year-round surfing beaches and visit the historic Rose Island Lighthouse.
“Americans embraced the first season of Weekends with Yankee," says executive producer Laurie Donnelly. “We’re excited to be back on the road again, capturing the stories and the spirit of New England that audiences find so appealing.”
“Collaborating with WGBH on this exciting experience for viewers has been extremely rewarding for Yankee,” said Brook Holmberg, publisher of Yankee. “The series depicts New England’s modern flair and innovations, as well as its diverse food and travel culture, while conveying unique places steeped in our nation’s history.”
Weekends with Yankee is produced by WGBH Boston’s Studio Six. Executive Producer: Laurie Donnelly (Rare: Creatures of the Photo Ark, I’ll Have What Phil’s Having, Sacred Journeys). Senior Producer: Anne Adams (Simply Ming, Moveable Feast). Series Director: Rennik Soholt (Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, Gourmet’s Diary of a Foodie). Series funding for Weekends with Yankee is provided byState of New Hampshire Division of Travel & Tourism, Maine Office of Tourism, and Vermont Country Store.
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About Yankee
Based in Dublin, New Hampshire, Yankee: New England's Magazine was founded in 1935 and is the iconic American magazine covering the finest that New England has to offer. Covering classic New England travel destinations, food traditions, and home and lifestyle stories with stunning photography and artwork, Yankee has featured many notable American writers in its pages such as Robert Frost, John Updike, and Stephen King. With a total circulation of nearly 300,000 and a total audience of 1.8 million readers, the magazine is published by Yankee Publishing Inc. (YPI), a family-owned, independent company. YPI also owns the nation’s oldest continuously produced periodical, The Old Farmer’s Almanac, and McLean Communications. For more information about Yankee, visit its online home: www.newengland.com.
About WGBH
WGBH Boston is America’s preeminent public broadcaster and the largest producer of PBS content for TV and the web, including Frontline, NOVA, American Experience, Masterpiece, and Antiques Roadshow, as well as lifestyle and children’s series. WGBH also is a major supplier of programming for public radio, and a leader in educational multimedia for the classroom, supplying content to PBS LearningMedia. WGBH is a pioneer in technologies and services that make media accessible to those with hearing or visual impairments. More info at www.wgbh.org.
About Richard Wiese
Richard Wiese is the co-host of Weekends with Yankee on public television. As a world-class explorer, he brings a seasoned traveler’s curiosity and appetite for discovery to his role as the series co-host and expert guide through New England. In addition to Weekends with Yankee, Wiese is the host of the Emmy Award–winning television series Born to Explore with Richard Wiese. Wiese is the author of the guidebook Born to Explore: How to Be a Backyard Adventurer, and in 2002 he became the youngest person to be named president of the Explorers Club. Wiese has traveled to all seven continents and has participated in numerous expeditions and projects, including two expeditions to Antarctica, cross-country skiing to the North Pole, and the largest medical expedition ever conducted on Mount Everest. Wiese lives in Weston, Connecticut, and is a graduate of Brown University.
About Amy Traverso
Amy Traverso is the senior food editor at Yankee. Previously, she was food editor at Boston magazine and an associate food editor at Sunset magazine. Her work has also been published in The Boston Globe, Salon.com, and Travel & Leisure, and she has appeared on The Martha Stewart Show, Throwdown with Bobby Flay, and Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares. Traverso is the author of The Apple Lover’s Cookbook, which was a finalist for the Julia Child Award for best first-time author and won an IACP Cookbook Award in the “American” category.
