Sundays at 8pm - BILLY CONNOLLY'S TRACKS ACROSS AMERICA - Travel - Billy Connolly takes to the rails for a six thousand mile trip through the backyard of America.
Welcome to an epic journey that puts Billy Connolly in the company of three things he loves dearly – trains, America and his banjo.
In these three episodes, Billy Connolly will circumnavigate the four corners of the United States on the magic carpet made of steel that is America’s rail network.
Beginning in Chicago and finishing in New York, Billy will head into the vast and astonishing landscapes that make up America’s backyard. An epic 26 states and over 6,000 miles of cities, coast, mountains, desert and swamp.
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Rich in the romance of the American dream, this is a travelogue in the tracks of the pioneers who built a nation. A glimpse into modern America and the states we rarely get to see onscreen. It’s a journey rich in people and places, chock-a-block full of moments you could only have in the company of Billy Connolly, a man who can move you to laughter and tears on the turn of a dime.
A series painted in visuals straight from the silver screen, with Billy on the banjo strumming along to the ‘chug chug’ rhythm of the ride.
Sunday January 22nd at 8pm
The first episode sees Billy travel from Chicago to Seattle on the mighty Empire Builder. Traveling from East to West, across six states, Billy stops off to witness a true slice of Americana at the Minnesota State Fair, where giant butter sculptures, corn beauty pageants and live animal births are just some of the bamboozling entertainment on offer.
He tackles a world famous ‘juicy lucy’ burger in Saint Paul before skirting the badlands of North Dakota to experience the highs and lows of an oil boom town. Billy’s journey’s end is in windswept Seattle - not in the glamorous tech city but Tent City, where many of Seattle’s homeless live. Here, Billy is moved by the tales of its residents.
Sunday January 29th at 8pm
Billy's adventure takes him into the jewel in the crown of America's rail network, from Vancouver, Washington to El Paso, Texas. Hurtling past jaw dropping vistas of land and sea - this is the West Coast and Pacific Ocean in all its cinematic glory.
In Oregon, Billy visits a vegetable farmer who has switched to growing cannabis. His next stop is the world's largest and probably loudest elephant seal rookery. Along the way Billy meets a real life hobo, who has been train hopping since the 1930s and he makes himself at home at Nitt Witt Ridge, one mans two-finger salute to architecture and town planning. From there, it's back on the train to the deserts of Arizona to meet the men and women on the frontline of US border control and visits a nuclear missile silo.
Sunday February 5th at 8pm
Billy travels from San Antonio Texas and up the soulful Crescent Route to New York. Kicking off in a spectacular fashion - a Friday night in Texas, which can mean only one thing: football. Billy chews hot dogs with the best of them at the ten thousand seat stadium where soccer moms, ambition and marching bands collide. From there it's on to the swamps of Louisiana where Billy braves an attack from jumping Asian carp and meets the genteel frog princesses of Rayne, the frog capital of the world.
After a moving tribute at the graveside of one of Billy's heroes - Hank Williams - it's onto Birmingham, Alabama, to hear the startling stories of the child crusaders who changed the course of history and segregation in the south. Billy's penultimate stop is Baltimore, but don't let a visit to the city's morgue put you off. Here Billy uncovers the incredible tale of the multi millionaire who became known as the Mother of CSI and her collection of creepy dollhouses.
