| Jack Whitehall: Travels with My Father | |
|---|---|
 A promotional poster for the first series, which released in 2017. | |
| Genre | Travel documentary comedy |
| Created by | Jack Whitehall |
| Presented by |
|
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 5 |
| No. of episodes | 18 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 29–61 min |
| Production companies | Tiger Aspect Productions Cave Bear Productions Jackpot Productions |
| Original release | |
| Network | Netflix |
| Release | September 22, 2017 (2017-09-22) – September 14, 2021 (2021-09-14) |
Jack Whitehall: Travels with My Father is atravel documentary/road tripcomedy television series that debuted onNetflix. The show is presented by comedianJack Whitehall and his father,Michael Whitehall.[1] The show covers the pair's travels to various places around the world, encountering silly and awkward situations.
The first series consist of six episodes and was released onNetflix on 22 September 2017, and covers the pair's travel to South East Asia on a popular "gap year route", and involves them travelling throughThailand,Vietnam, andCambodia.[2][3] The series was renewed for a second series which was filmed inEastern Europe.[4] The second season premiered on 28 September 2018, and consisted of five episodes.[5]The third season was filmed in theAmerican west and premiered on 6 September 2019, and only consisted of two episodes. The fourth season was filmed in Australia and premiered on 22 September 2020, and consisted of another two episodes. A fifth season, filmed in the U.K. and consisting of three episodes, was released on 14 September 2021.[6]
| Season | Episodes | Originally released | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | September 22, 2017 (2017-09-22) | ||
| 2 | 5 | September 28, 2018 (2018-09-28) | ||
| 3 | 2 | September 6, 2019 (2019-09-06) | ||
| 4 | 2 | September 22, 2020 (2020-09-22) | ||
| 5 | 3 | September 14, 2021 (2021-09-14) | ||
Series 1 sees Jack and his father, Michael, embark on the trip of a lifetime acrossSouth East Asia. Along the way the pair visitsThailand,Cambodia andVietnam.
| No. overall | No. in series | Title | Original release date [7] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Episode 1" | September 22, 2017 (2017-09-22) | |
Comedian Jack Whitehall brings his father Michael Whitehall to Southeast Asia as part of Jack'sgap year. They start inBangkok, Thailand atKhao San Road but while Jack has arranged to stay in ahostel, Michael insists on staying in afive-star hotel, and Jack obliges. They have dinner at theSirocco. They meet Pru, their regional guide. They visit a shrine dedicated to Chuchok and have dinner at a street-side restaurant. The next day they attend aKing's Cup Elephant Polo match, with Jack joining the team from New Zealand. | ||||
| 2 | 2 | "Episode 2" | September 22, 2017 (2017-09-22) | |
Pru takes the Whitehalls to a temple garden where they meet a Buddhist monk who is originally from England. The temple grounds have some peculiar statues. While Michael stays at the hotel, Jack meets members ofTeam Farang, a group that specializes inparkour. He trains at a trampoline park, and then free-runs with them up a 42-story derelict building. Later, the Whitehalls then visit a shop where they sellLuk Thep dolls, ones that look very realistic, and acquire one which Michael names Winston. Later, Jack and Michael board theOrient Express to visit part of theBurma Railway that inspired the filmThe Bridge on the River Kwai. | ||||
| 3 | 3 | "Episode 3" | September 22, 2017 (2017-09-22) | |
The pair travel to the holiday island ofPhuket, where Jack has arranged to stay at a straw beach hut. Jack takes Michael on asea kayak, but Michael throws his oar away so that Jack has to do all the paddling. While Jack gets a massage at the beach, Michael is dissatisfied with the restrooms by the beach, so he rents a room. Jack takes Michael to aFull Moon Party. The following day, they travel by boat toKo Panyi, where a hungover Jack participates in a football match on a floating pitch with the Panyee FC youth team. Jack meetsSteven Seagal at the hotel before they head to the Thailand-Cambodia border. | ||||
| 4 | 4 | "Episode 4" | September 22, 2017 (2017-09-22) | |
The duo arrive inPoipet, Cambodia where they ride anorry toBattambang. There, Jack looks for a local restaurant and samples some delicacies including snake and rat, and later takes his father there. The pair then visitAngkor Wat where Jack tries his hand at teaching the Buddhist monks some English phrases. They learn about the horrors of theKhmer Rouge regime, visiting a cave where ten thousand people were killed and their bodies dumped. At dusk, they watch another cave where a large number of bats pour out for their evening excursion. | ||||
| 5 | 5 | "Episode 5" | September 22, 2017 (2017-09-22) | |
AtSiem Reap, Jack and Michael visit a shadow puppet theater performance, and then participate in a story where Michael narratesThe Dam Busters and Jack works the puppets. But when Jack tries to spice up the performance by splashing water on Michael and the kids, Michael does not want to participate in anything the next day. Jack joinsAPOPO for the day where they have trained rats to detect land mines. After checking with his wife, Michael agrees to support Jack, and they get matching tattoos and enjoy some night life afterwards. They then travel toHoi An in Vietnam. They try to paddle a boat but get stuck on the water, and have to get a local to tow them. The local shows Jack how to row a bowl-shaped watercraft called acoracle. They then visit theBà Nà Hills which has become a European-styled resort / theme park attraction with a Western-styled cathedral and even some Eastern Europeans who dress up as princesses and princes to entertain. | ||||
| 6 | 6 | "Episode 6" | September 22, 2017 (2017-09-22) | |
The final leg of their journey sees the Whitehalls heading toHanoi in Vietnam. Jack wants to drive for the first time ever, but soon gets their vehicle stuck. They visit a shop inHàng Mã Street that sells paper objects that can be burned for their ancestors, buying a bunch of items for Michael's parents, and then visit a shrine where they put the items in an oven. They visit the studio of performance artist Mr. Khanh, and do drawings of Michael. At night, they visit a local park where they dostick jumping. riding a street trike, and ballroom dancing. They return to Bangkok and look back over their time together. | ||||
In the second series, Jack and his father, Michael, embark on a road trip acrossEurope. It is to be a trip of high culture and timeless art, a true rite of passage in the vein of the 18th-centuryGrand Tours, however, Jack has other plans. Along their way they visitGermany,Hungary,Romania,Moldova,Ukraine andTurkey.
| No. overall | No. in series | Title | Original release date [7] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 1 | "Episode 1" | September 28, 2018 (2018-09-28) | |
Michael wants to take Jack on a historical and cultural tour through Eastern Europe. They start in theBavarian Alps. They visit the town ofBerchtesgaden and thenObersalzberg, where they visit the ruins ofHitler's holiday home. Jack finds the tour to be dry so he arranges for a host named Happy Bavarian Joe. They visitZugspitze, Germany's highest mountain, but a blizzard blocks the view at the summit. They stay in some accommodations carved in the ice where there is access to hot tub and sauna. They visit a car park nearRamsau where they tryskijoring (riding a snowmobile while towing a skier). They board asleeping car train to Hungary, but find the compartment to be acouchette. | ||||
| 8 | 2 | "Episode 2" | September 28, 2018 (2018-09-28) | |
In Hungary the pair visitsBudapest. The first stop on Michael's mission to get Jack cultured is theHungarian State Opera House, however, they find themselves lost. Jack gets them a ride on a citybeer bike where they try someUnicum liqueur. They discover that the Opera House is closed for restoration, much to Michael's dismay. They visitThe House of Houdini museum, where they are wowed by the local escapologist, the Great Merlini (David Merlini), who gets out of astraitjacket, after which Jack wants to try the trick, but cannot. The father-son duo take a boat ride along the riverDanube, where Michael shares some words of wisdom with Jack. They rent acamper van to head into ruralRomania, hoping to seePrince Charles's favorite holiday spot, but at the border toTransylvania, theguard thinks Michael's doll Winston might be smuggling drugs and has him stripped of his clothes. They participate in a traditional mask dance. They visit a wool maker where Michael thinks he can get a bargain on some coats, but gets theexchange rate wrong. | ||||
| 9 | 3 | "Episode 3" | September 28, 2018 (2018-09-28) | |
In Transylvania, Romania, their guide Andra takes the two to visit a renownedwhite witch named Maria who reads their fortunes usingtarot cards. They then visit theMerry Cemetery inSăpânța where Jack surprises Michael with his own customized headstone. They then go toChișinău,Moldova where Jack will be meeting his favorite pop band from theEurovision Song Contest, theSunStroke Project. They visit theMileștii Mici, one of the largest underground wine cellars in the world. Michael takes a liking to the host. That night, Jack performs with SunStroke Project for a song at their local concert. | ||||
| 10 | 4 | "Episode 4" | September 28, 2018 (2018-09-28) | |
InKyiv,Ukraine, Michael wants Jack to toughen up, so he has hisCossack host Dimitri take Jack to Kachalka Gym, an outdoor fitness park with exercise machines fashioned out of old military parts. They then learn some military training tactics from a Special Forces agent. They visit theChernobyl New Safe Confinement structure (site of theChernobyl disaster) and the ruins of the abandoned town. They visit the city ofOdessa in the Ukrainian Riviera and participate inHumorina, an arts festival where revelers in a parade dress up asclowns, one of the things that Jack thinks Michael has a fear of. | ||||
| 11 | 5 | "Episode 5" | September 28, 2018 (2018-09-28) | |
Jack and Michael go toIstanbul,Turkey for their final part of their journey. To celebrate Michael's birthday, Jack sets Michael up in theÇırağan Palace, a five-star hotel that Jack discovers has a very expensive room rate, complete with butlers. Before taking them to see some of the city's sights, their guide notes that Jack is wearing shorts instead of pants so they visit theGrand Bazaar, one of the oldest "malls" in the world. They visit ahookah lounge, and in the evening, watch Turkishbelly dancing performed by a man. The next morning, Jack tries to bring Michaelbreakfast in bed, but Michael wants to sleep. He then surprises Michael when Jack's mother and Michael's wife Hilary arrives. They take a cruise on a private yacht Jack rented, along with the guy they met at the Moldovan winery serves them drinks. | ||||
In the third series, Jack shows his father around theAmerican west in the hope that he will move there with him. However, in usual fashion, Michael tries to take the whole trip over.
| No. overall | No. in series | Title | Original release date [7] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | 1 | "Episode 1" | September 6, 2019 (2019-09-06) | |
Jack brings his father to California for a tour of Los Angeles andCompton where Jack has been wanting to develop his acting career. They visit a yoga studio but Michael refuses to disrobe to donaked yoga. The next day they visit a positive-theme restaurant calledCafe Gratitude, and then board a vintageGreyhound bus toPhoenix, Arizona. Jack participates in an independentpro wrestling promotion. | ||||
| 13 | 2 | "Episode 2" | September 6, 2019 (2019-09-06) | |
Jack and Michael visit the senior living community ofSun City West, Arizona where they participate in tap dancing lessons and a game ofBingo. After stops inTombstone, Arizona (where they dress up in Western clothes and then go out to ashooting range), Jack and Michael go to Las Vegas, where a surprise guest could ruin Jack's "lads and dads" itinerary. They see theBellagio Fountains, do a car chase experience, and have a themed meal that has cannabis infusions. Jack takes them to aMagic Mike show. | ||||
In the fourth series, Jack shows his father aroundAustralia.
| No. overall | No. in series | Title | Original release date [7] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | 1 | "Episode 1" | September 22, 2020 (2020-09-22) |
| 15 | 2 | "Episode 2" | September 22, 2020 (2020-09-22) |
In the fifth and final series, Jack shows his father around theUnited Kingdom; later, they reminisce about their favorite moments on the series.
| No. overall | No. in series | Title | Original release date [7] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 | 1 | "Episode 1" | September 14, 2021 (2021-09-14) | |
Hilary sends Jack and Michael to various places in the UK. The three have a meal atGordon Ramsay's Lucky Cat restaurant where Ramsay is actually in the kitchen. Michael drives Jack around London in aMini Cooper. Then, the two travel toCerne Abbas to tryMorris dancing by theCerne Abbas Giant. They tourChartwell, which wasWinston Churchill's home, and then visit theBurgh Island Hotel where they attend amystery dinner. They meet up with Hilary at the Palé Hall Hotel nearMount Snowdon to celebrate the parents' 35th wedding anniversary. Hilary and Jack camp on the side of a cliff atAnglesey. | ||||
| 17 | 2 | "Episode 2" | September 14, 2021 (2021-09-14) | |
| 18 | 3 | "The Best of Travels with My Father" | September 14, 2021 (2021-09-14) | |
