WLRN producer Mia Laurenzo says she wanted to take viewers on a TV tour of seldom-seen attractions.
"I like it when viewers say, 'Wow, I really didn't know that' — especially people who live here,'' says Laurenzo, who traveled with Carlson, the dog and a cameraman for several weeks beginning in May.
The Hollywood resident got the idea for the documentaries after spotting Carlson's 2005 book, "Weird Florida: Your Travel Guide to Florida's Local Legends and Best Kept Secrets." Taking a cue from the classic series "Ripley's Believe It or Not!," the WLRN show also has segments on creepy legends such as a lake monster in the city of Frostproof and a "skunk-ape" north of Lakeland.
"It's not your typical PBS travel show which tells you about the types of food, the culture, the area and [has] these beautiful sweeping aerial pans,'' Laurenzo says. "'Weird Florida' is campy. We take a look at these roadside attractions."
Posted at 11:46 a.m. Friday, December 21:
WLRN takes viewers on a trip through Florida in search of weird places and whacky people, with its new documentary Weird Florida: On the Road Again ! This exciting new documentary was produced due to the tremendous success of the first television special Weird Florida: Roads Less Traveled, which has aired on PBS stations from Miami, Florida to Juneau, Alaska. To fulfill the desires of weird fans everywhere, the bizarre journey to Florida’s zaniest places will continue in this all new Weird Florida: On the Road Again.
