Stanley Tucci Still Owns the Ultimate Travel Show Obsession

June 4th, 2026

Last summer, I shared my favorite travel-comedy-documentary television shows — a genre you probably didn’t know you needed in your life. This summer, I’m skipping the rankings and going straight to the undisputed champion: my all-time favorite travel show, and one I honestly can’t imagine being replaced anytime soon.

If you’re even remotely a fan of watching celebrities wander through beautiful locations with impossibly talented camera crews following them around, then chances are you’ve already seen Tucci in Italy.

And if you haven’t, now is the time.

Everyone’s favorite Italian-American is back with a second season of the National Geographic-produced series, currently streaming on Hulu. Add that to the two seasons of CNN’s Searching for Italy, also available on the platform, and you suddenly have about seventeen glorious hours of Stanley Tucci wandering through Italy eating incredible food and talking to fascinating people.

There are certainly worse ways to spend your summer.

What makes this show stand apart from the endless wave of travel and food programming is, first and foremost, Stanley Tucci himself.

It’s hard to pinpoint exactly how Tucci became such a cultural favorite. Yes, there’s the résumé — the iconic film performances, the awards, the decades-long acting career. But his appeal goes beyond that. There’s something about him that feels deeply genuine. He’s curious without seeming performative. Sophisticated without being intimidating. Stylish without trying too hard.

And most importantly, he seems sincerely delighted by the people and places he encounters.

That energy becomes the heartbeat of Tucci in Italy.

The series certainly delivers the expected pleasures: breathtaking landscapes, charming villages, unforgettable meals, and enough pasta to make viewers immediately regret not having dinner first. But the show goes much deeper than tourism fantasy.

Tucci spends time with family-run farms and kitchens preserving generations-old traditions. He visits artisans and laborers who continue practices that define Italy’s cultural identity. He explores small towns still holding onto old-world rhythms and values.

The show isn’t just about where to eat. It’s about the people who keep these traditions alive.

And Tucci approaches every interaction with visible wonder.

In one standout episode from the latest season, the series visits Sicily’s Valley of the Temples, the UNESCO World Heritage Site known for some of the finest surviving examples of ancient Greek art and architecture.

There, Tucci tours a garden still irrigated by a 2,500-year-old Greek aqueduct. He tastes fruit grown from that historic land before sitting down for a meal prepared by local chefs surrounded by centuries of living history.

Honestly, who wouldn’t be overwhelmed with joy in a moment like that?

That’s the magic of the series. Even watching from your couch, the sense of awe becomes contagious.

You don’t just leave the show hungry. You leave it wanting to experience the world more thoughtfully.

So grab a bowl of pasta, pour yourself an Aperol spritz, maybe add some gelato for good measure, and prepare to be transported.

This has been Christine Burright for Pass the Popcorn for KVNO’s Arts Today.