Billy Nash’s Passport Properties gets S2 with Sean Buckley as exec producer

Billy Nash (left) during filming of Passport Properties

MIPCOM: Real-estate and travel show Passport Properties will return for a second season, with Toronto-based producer Sean Buckley joining the series as executive producer, its creator and host Billy Nash told C21 in Cannes.

Buckley, owner and CEO of Buck Productions, brings experience in brand partnerships, having worked with L’Oréal and Jeep, and on television content with Red Bull, Nash said. He will advise on brand involvement in the new season.

“The brands are now approaching me and saying they want to get involved in Passport Properties season two,” Nash said. “Sean is my first line of defence to make sure I make the right decisions on what brands are perfect for season two.

“Sean loved what we did with Passport Properties season one, and getting him on board is a vote of confidence because I proved I can do it. I have a show now that’s playing around Europe, and season two is going to only get better.”

The series, produced by Nash Lux Productions, follows Nash’s real-estate work while exploring the history, culture and people connected to the properties he visits. Nash said the format would remain unchanged, describing it as a travelogue that uses property as a way into local communities.

“The format will not change for the new season because it’s a format that works. It travels well. It can be translated in any language. It’s aspirational,” he said.

Season two will focus on locations in North and South America.

Nash said the show was intended as an alternative to existing property programmes: “The property is the lens into the communities. It’s not really a show about real estate.”

A former Wall Street private banker who has worked in real estate for a decade, Nash said he funded the initial production himself because he had no television track record with which to raise capital. Canada’s Blue Ant Media became the exclusive distributor for season one before filming began.

In Europe, the docuseries premiered on Canal+ Domo in Poland and is licensed to Canal+ networks in France and its wider territories. It also airs on AMC Networks-backed lifestyle channel Casa e Cozinha in Portugal and on TV3 in Latvia.

Nash said he believes the format has scope for further seasons, citing access to properties through Forbes Global Properties in markets including Argentina, Costa Rica and Japan.

He added: “We’re not even 10% done. There are so many cultures and countries around the world, and there are all these stories waiting to be told.”