Destination America goes slow

Railroad Alaska: Real Time Train Ride

Discovery-owned US cablenet Destination America is the latest channel to move into the ‘slow TV’ genre, with a five-hour Thanksgiving special filmed along an Alaskan railroad.

Railroad Alaska: Real Time Train Ride is being produced by Argonon-owned UK prodco Windfall Films and will air on the Discovery-owned channel on Thursday November 26 from 09.00 to 14.00 ET.

The show is a spin-off from Windfall’s Railroad Alaska series, which explores the stunning scenery and wildlife of the Alaskan railroad, as well as the challenges in keeping it running in extreme weather.

Destination America has greenlit that show for a third season, premiering on November 14.

Slow TV has become one of television’s more intriguing trends since Norwegian broadcaster NRK experienced ratings success with real-time train rides and boat cruises.

Earlier this year, Travel Channel in the US picked up the NRK formats from distributor DRG to remake as local versions.