The Trip is a British televisionsitcom and feature film directed byMichael Winterbottom, starringSteve Coogan andRob Brydon as fictionalised versions of themselves on a restaurant tour ofnorthern England. The series was edited intofeature film format and premiered at theToronto International Film Festival in September 2010. The full series was first broadcast onBBC Two andBBC HD in the United Kingdom in November 2010. Both the TV series and film received very positive reviews.

Three further series followed.The Trip to Italy was broadcast on BBC Two in 2014,The Trip to Spain was filmed in 2016 and broadcast onSky Atlantic in 2017, andThe Trip to Greece was filmed in 2019 and aired onSky One in 2020.^[1] Like the first series, the second, third and fourth were each edited into feature films.^[2][3][4] At the time, Winterbottom, Coogan and Brydon stated thatThe Trip to Greece would be the final series for the show.^[5] However, a fifth series,The Trip to the Northern Lights, set in Scandinavia, was announced in June 2025.^[6][7]

Coogan and Brydon's roles as fictionalised versions of themselves are a continuation of their improvised performances in the filmA Cock and Bull Story (2005), also directed byMichael Winterbottom.^[8] In an interview withThe Guardian, Coogan said he and Brydon exaggerated "the aspects of ourselves that help the comedy ... I like playing with the fact that it might be me, to give it a bit more edge. So some of the conversations with Rob are funny, but some of them are very uncomfortable. They're sort of genuine arguments. It's a sort of an exaggeration of real life."^[8]

• Steve Coogan as Steve Coogan
• Rob Brydon as Rob Brydon
• Claire Keelan as Emma, Steve's assistant who joins each of the trips for at least a few days
• Rebecca Johnson as Sally, Rob's wife
• Tim Leach as Joe, Steve's son, with whom he has a distant relationship that they gradually mend throughout the series
• Marta Barrio as Yolanda, a photographer who accompanies Emma, and has a casual relationship with Steve
• Margo Stilley as Mischa, Steve's American girlfriend who breaks up with him in the first series
• Ben Stiller appears in a cameo as himself in one of Steve’s dreams

In an effort to save his relationship with hisgourmet girlfriend, Mischa (Margo Stilley), actorSteve Coogan accepts a commission fromThe Observer to go on a restaurant tour ofnorthern England. When Mischa insists they take a break from their relationship, Steve invites colleague andfrenemyRob Brydon. On the trip, Coogan has a number of one-night stands, but is miserable professionally and personally, despite being the bigger star; Brydon, with his young family, is more content and laid-back. The two argue and attempt to one-up and humiliate each other with their impersonations of celebrities includingMichael Caine andSean Connery.

In the second series, Rob and Steve are commissioned to do another restaurant tour, this time inItaly fromPiedmont toCapri, following in the footsteps of the greatRomantic poets in the early 19th century on theGrand Tour.^[9][10] While on the tour, Rob wins a part in an AmericanMichael Mann film. Steve reconnects with his estranged son, Joe, who briefly joins the two towards the end of their trip.

In the third series, Rob and Steve are commissioned to do another restaurant tour, this time inSpain.

The fourth series is set inGreece where Rob and Steve conduct a restaurant tour that follows the path of theOdyssey.

The concept was revived forThe Big Night In, a 20 April 2020telethon held during theCOVID-19 pandemic, in a skit which had the pair conducting a video call from their homes to discuss making a segment for the telethon.^[12]

The Trip received positive reviews. Andrea Mullaney ofThe Scotsman said that "on paper,The Trip sounds bloody awful: a cosy, luvvie giant in-joke forSteve Coogan andRob Brydon", but went on to describe it as "completely brilliant" and "hilarious".^[13] Brian Viner ofThe Independent said: "The Trip never fails to oblige. I love it for its originality and its daring."^[14] John Crace ofThe Guardian described the show as "one of the funniest things on TV."^[15] DirectorRichard Curtis described the series as one of the greatest television programmes of all time at the 2013British Comedy Awards.^[16] It was nominated, in 2011, for theBAFTA Television Award for Best Situation Comedy, and Steve Coogan won the award forBest Male Comedy Performance.^[17] It won the Best New Programme award at the 2012 Broadcast Awards in London.^[18] In 2018, Rob Brydon was nominated for theBAFTA Television Award for Best Male Comedy Performance, but lost out toToby Jones forDetectorists.^[19]

The second series,The Trip to Italy, also received positive reviews. Review aggregatorRotten Tomatoes reports that 87% of 54 film critics have given the film a positive review, with a rating average of 7.3 out of 10.^[20] Stephanie Zacharek ofThe Village Voice wrote thatThe Trip to Italy "is basically more of the sameTrip ... Now we know just what to expect from Coogan and Brydon, although as long as you're willing to settle in for the ride, that's not necessarily a bad thing."^[21] Scott Foundas ofVariety found the series a "warmly enjoyable continuation of their improvised cultural and culinary adventures."^[22] William Goss ofFilm.com wrote: "Plenty enjoyable for fans of the first one, but by the end, it also has the consistency of reheated comfort food."^[23] Amber Wilkinson ofThe Daily Telegraph gave the film version ofThe Trip to Italy a grade B score, writing that Coogan and Brydon's "improvisation has been honed to the point where the jokes land solidly without losing naturalism and the pair of them are clearly enjoying la dolce vita."^[24]

A review article of the series was published in the online quarterly film journalSenses of Cinema in 2015, which reflects upon its relationships to poetry, the work ofWalter Benjamin, allegory, tragedy, mourning,Italian neorealism, Romanticism, andThe Gravediggers scene from Shakespeare'sHamlet.^[25] In 2019,The Trip was ranked 95th onThe Guardian's list of the 100 best TV shows of the 21st century.^[26]

In Australia, the programme was first screened Wednesday nights at 10:00pm onABC1 starting on 14 December 2011, six months after the feature film edit ofThe Trip was released.^[27]

The first series ofThe Trip was released on 13 December 2010. The second series was released on 12 May 2014, as well as a boxset featuring all 12 TV episodes, and a boxset of the film versions.^{[citation needed]}

In 2023, Coogan mentioned wanting to do a fifth season, perhaps in the two men's ancestral homes ofWales andIreland.^[28][29] However, in 2024Michael Winterbottom stated in an interview that there would be no more films in the series.^[30]

In February 2025, Coogan again had a driving ban reduced from six points and six months to five points and two months, saying that the longer disqualification would disrupt forthcoming filming and affect many people.^[31] In a letter to Birmingham Magistrates Court, Coogan cited a new instalment ofThe Trip as one such commitment, saying that filming was to start in June 2025.^[32] He had been caught speeding at 97mph on a motorway in July 2024, and faced the prospect of a six-month ban as another sixpenalty points on his driving licence would have taken it to the twelve-point limit incurring the ban.In an interview with newLate Late Show hostPatrick Kielty in February 2025, Coogan admitted that he and Brydon were about to make another instalment.

In June 2025, a fifth season was confirmed by Sky, set in Scandinavia, with the nameThe Trip to the Northern Lights.^[33]

• The Trip atBBC Online
• BBC programme - The Trip To Italy
• The Trip atBritish Comedy Guide
• The Trip atIMDb
• Review article: ''The Trip' as Mourning Comedy atSenses of Cinema

• 2010 British television series debuts
• 2010s British comedy television series
• 2020s British sitcoms
• BBC television sitcoms
• British English-language television shows
• Television shows directed by Michael Winterbottom
• Television shows set in the Lake District
• Television shows set in Italy
• Television shows set in Lancashire
• Television shows set in Spain
• Television shows set in Yorkshire
• Sky Atlantic original programming
• Sky UK sitcoms
• Mockumentaries
• Self-reflexive television

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