George Clarke’s Adventures in Americana is a travelogue with a difference, as the Amazing Spaces star George takes us on an architectural adventure across the USA. Over four episodes, he journeys from the Deep South to California, Florida and the East Coast, exploring classic American design from bizarre desert hotels and vast ranch houses, to serene wooden cabins and even Frank Sinatra’s modernist Palm Springs home.
"I admit I badgered Channel 4 about doing this series," says George, 49. "I wanted to celebrate Americana, which is a term that captures everything from 1950s diners to the classic American refrigerator, neon signs and iconic cars. As a lad growing up in Sunderland I was mesmerised by all of that stuff."
So here’s everything you need to know about George Clarke’s Adventures in Americana on Channel 4…
George Clarke’s Adventures in Americana release date
George Clarke’s Adventures in Americana is a four-part series that starts on Channel 4 on Sunday January 21 2024 at 9pm.
What happens in George Clarke’s Adventures in Americana?
George Clarke’s Adventures in Americana sees George explore the architecture and design movement that has fascinated him since he was a kid growing up in Sunderland. The Channel 4 synopsis reads: ‘Americana is a byword for nostalgia; for a period, where the country’s future was big, bold and exciting. Travelling down both the West and East coasts, through the Deep South, Texas and along the length of Florida, George will be discovering how the golden age of Americana - from its extraordinary buildings and incredible design to its influence on American culture - lay the foundations for the most iconic country in the world.’
Exclusive interview: George Clarke talks us through George Clarke’s Adventures in Americana
How did George Clarke’s Adventures in Americana come about?
George Clarke told us: “I said to Channel 4, I think we should make an architectural travelogue. They weren’t keen at first because they’ve done lots of travelogues. But most of them are about taking a comedian or actor and sending them off to some far-flung place where they do random stuff, which is all good entertainment. But I wanted to do an architectural travelogue about American architecture and design.”
Have you always been obsessed with so-called Americana?
George says: “Yeah, growing up as a kid in Sunderland I was fascinated by Americana design. I loved films like Back to the Future, cowboy films and John Wayne films. As a lad it all seemed like a different planet, not just another country!”
Do you have a favourite building from the series?
George says: “In episode four we visited this guy who’d built a poetry cabin in his garden, a place for him to keep his collection of books and to write poetry. And I can’t tell you how jealous I was! It was a piece of very modern design, but steeped in a lot of the traditions of American architecture. So it was very slick and there was lots of glass, but it was much connected to the American landscape. I got quite emotional!”
And the weirdest?
George reveals: “There were several! But there was one bonkers project, which I call the horizontal skyscraper because it was like someone had taken a 100m high mirrored skyscraper and put it on its side and just laid it down in the middle of nowhere in Californian desert!”
Where would you like to go next?
George says: “The list is enormous! I don’t want to get ahead of myself but if this series does well I’d love to go to China. It has a phenomenal history and beautiful buildings, yet on the flip side they’ve also been building cities that nobody lives in. They’re so obsessed with growth and getting more people into work they’ve just been building and building, predicting someone might live in these places in 10 years time. They’re like abandoned ghost cities!”
George Clarke’s Adventures in Americana episode guide
Here's our episode guide with George giving the lowdown on what he comes across in George Clarke’s Adventures in Americana...
Episode 1: South Coast
George travels 650 miles from Louisiana to Texas where he tours New Orleans’ quintessential Creole buildings and explores the German-built town of Gruene. He also visits some homes precariously built on the bayou swamps and an 18th-century sugar plantation, now a museum dedicated to telling the story of slavery. "As a piece of architecture the plantation is beautiful, but I didn’t want to romanticise it because horrific stuff happened there," says George. "There’s still that dark side to America and the whole series was a real education for me. You go from this polished glitz to cabins built on swamps. So it’s not just about architecture, but also about politics, history and people."
Episode 2
George continues is American odyssey in California, where he visits the birthplace of the double decker burger and encounters a skyscraper built on its side in the desert! Being California, the influence of Hollywood is never far away and George heads to a cowboy set that’s been turned into a real town. Later, he travels to Palm Springs, home to some amazing mid-century homes.
Episode 3
NASA’s 160m tall Vehicle Assembly Building in Florida is one of the world’s largest structures and this week George heads there to see the place where the Apollo mission craft and Space Shuttles were constructed. Elsewhere in the US state he explores a home built to survive hurricanes and gets a taste of Little Havana before finishing his trip in Key West.
Episode 4
We'll be updating on these episodes as the series progresses so do check back.
Is there a trailer for George Clarke’s Adventures in Americana?
Not yet, but watch this space for a hint of what’s to come, including 1950s-style diners, weird horizontal skyscrapers and poetry cabins in the woods. We’ll update here as soon as one lands!
