It’s an unlikely story.
My television concept was simple and novel: pair everyday people with the world’s most spectacular places. We asked those who’d never had the means to travel to choose the one destination they most wanted to see—and set out to take them there.
For our pilot we chose Blake White, a young farmer and father from West Virginia who was losing his eyesight to a hereditary disease. His most fervent wish was to see the Northern Lights.
We filmed in Alaska, sixty miles north of Fairbanks, at Aurora Borealis Basecamp—individual pods with glass ceilings, off the grid and seemingly in the middle of nowhere. It was just our production crew, Blake and his wife, Amy, and the occasional lone wolf padding past as we perched on a low hill above acres of winter woods.
Blake and Amy had never been on a plane, never traveled more than a few hundred miles from home. In Alaska they snowmobiled, hiked, dog-sledded, and shared a quiet dinner in the lodge. For them, it was a true trip of a lifetime.
Like many dreams, ours faced headwinds. A few months after we returned, I—co-creator and writer—was diagnosed with breast cancer. My co-creator and longtime friend, Rodney, lost his only child in a car accident. Then COVID hit. The project, inevitably, went to the back burner.
Five years later, we’re ready to bring it back. It’s a beautiful, worthwhile show, and audiences in our test markets loved the pilot. They felt as if they’d traveled to Alaska with Blake—witnessing something they might never see themselves.
We spent four days on location. The weather cooperated: clear skies, temperatures only slightly below normal—about fifteen below at night. Most astonishing of all, the aurora appeared in full glory on our first evening. The Northern Lights are never guaranteed; we were extraordinarily lucky. I still take that as a good sign.
Please watch our pilot and share it with anyone who might enjoy it. Sometimes it takes only one connection to open the door for stories like these.
The Travel Wish Sizzle Reel: vimeo.com/reviews/9b70f20c-2798-413f-b69a-444a6ad6c0a3/videos/277354726
The Travel Wish Full Episode: vimeo.com/reviews/3dce0b8e-4443-4968-996d-35c661da2851/videos/271783800
My television concept was simple and novel: pair everyday people with the world’s most spectacular places. We asked those who’d never had the means to travel to choose the one destination they most wanted to see—and set out to take them there.
For our pilot we chose Blake White, a young farmer and father from West Virginia who was losing his eyesight to a hereditary disease. His most fervent wish was to see the Northern Lights.
We filmed in Alaska, sixty miles north of Fairbanks, at Aurora Borealis Basecamp—individual pods with glass ceilings, off the grid and seemingly in the middle of nowhere. It was just our production crew, Blake and his wife, Amy, and the occasional lone wolf padding past as we perched on a low hill above acres of winter woods.
Blake and Amy had never been on a plane, never traveled more than a few hundred miles from home. In Alaska they snowmobiled, hiked, dog-sledded, and shared a quiet dinner in the lodge. For them, it was a true trip of a lifetime.
Like many dreams, ours faced headwinds. A few months after we returned, I—co-creator and writer—was diagnosed with breast cancer. My co-creator and longtime friend, Rodney, lost his only child in a car accident. Then COVID hit. The project, inevitably, went to the back burner.
Five years later, we’re ready to bring it back. It’s a beautiful, worthwhile show, and audiences in our test markets loved the pilot. They felt as if they’d traveled to Alaska with Blake—witnessing something they might never see themselves.
We spent four days on location. The weather cooperated: clear skies, temperatures only slightly below normal—about fifteen below at night. Most astonishing of all, the aurora appeared in full glory on our first evening. The Northern Lights are never guaranteed; we were extraordinarily lucky. I still take that as a good sign.
Please watch our pilot and share it with anyone who might enjoy it. Sometimes it takes only one connection to open the door for stories like these.
The Travel Wish Sizzle Reel: vimeo.com/reviews/9b70f20c-2798-413f-b69a-444a6ad6c0a3/videos/277354726
The Travel Wish Full Episode: vimeo.com/reviews/3dce0b8e-4443-4968-996d-35c661da2851/videos/271783800