Series chronicles Wilson’s global search for inner bliss
Rainn Wilson wanted to find inner happiness. So he got on a plane. Many planes.
The actor, who memorably played scheming, egotistical Dwight Schrute on “The Office” has crisscrossed the world to explore how people in different countries find their glee.
The result is “Rainn Wilson and the Geography of Bliss,” a new Peacock series that follows Wilson looking for some deep answers — from taking in a drag show in Thailand to getting in a boxing ring in Ghana.
“I wanted it to be a personal voyage of like, ‘Hey, can this make me happier? Can I share my journey? Can I share my story?’ But, at the same time, I wanted it to be something for everyone — you could feel like you’re going on that trip, too,” Wilson says in a recent interview.
Armed with global data on happiness, Rainn visits countries both high and low in happiness, digging into philosophy and history and his own story. He quotes philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche and scrubs elephants.
The series, now streaming, is based on “The Geography of Bliss: One Grump’s Search for the Happiest Places in the World,” a book by Eric Weiner, a former NPR international correspondent who admits he was a little nervous when Wilson first came on board.
“He was Dwight from ‘The Office’ — goofy, funny Dwight. And I thought, ‘Oh, no, really?’ But then I quickly discovered that Rainn Wilson is not Dwight, and I’ve had a chance to get to know him a bit,” says Weiner. “And
he is a very thoughtful, very curious, actually very serious guy, the way a lot of comedians and comedic actors are.”
Wilson starts the series by revealing on camera that he comes from an unhappy family, has battled depression starting in his teens and has an anxiety disorder. It was key for him to acknowledge that to fans and viewers.
“It’s super-important to share your struggle,” he says. “In the current environment and the Instagram-ification of American life, everyone looks happy and wellcurated and in awesome locations and coping perfectly. And someone’s at home alone suffering.”
Wilson joins a crowded field of new celebrity travel hosts, which includes Eugene Levy, Zac Efron, Jose Andres, Chris Hemsworth, Stanley Tucci and Ewan McGregor. But few travel shows have their host dress up like a Viking, drive a tuk-tuk or skateboard in the former Soviet bloc.
“It’s basically philosophy on the road,” says Weiner. “The travel is the candy that gets you to the
main course of these really big philosophical issues about suffering and happiness and meaning and trust and all these issues that Rainn wrestles with.”
What is the secret to happiness? The show indicates that the answers may not be as complicated as we think it is — and it may include getting very, very cold.
“There’s a set of tools. There is finding community, being of service to others, connecting to nature. Meditation. Gratitude,” Wilson says. “Cold immersion therapy or cold and heat therapy. It’s not rocket science.”
And, appropriately, you might add travel to that list. This time, Wilson wasn’t traveling to sit on a beach and sip a coconut cocktail — although there’s nothing wrong with that, he insists — but to learn.
“Traveling to find joy is something that everyone can do. But it does involve getting to know strangers, connecting with them, finding community, learning, getting humble,” Wilson says. “Travel itself can be a great antidote to disconnection and unhappiness.”