Stanley Tucci is taking his Emmy-winning culinary travelogue across the Atlantic. After garnering three Emmy wins for CNN's "Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy" and two nominations for National Geographic's "Tucci in Italy," the actor and food writer is pivoting to the United Kingdom for the show's next season.
Tucci revealed the geographic shift during an appearance on Variety's Awards Circuit Podcast, noting that production on the new season is already underway. The move marks a natural expansion for a franchise built on Tucci's ability to weave personal narrative with gastronomic exploration. Italy established the template: intimate storytelling grounded in regional food traditions, family history, and cultural discovery.
The UK represents fresh territory for Tucci's distinctive approach to food television. Where Italy allowed him to excavate family lineage and Mediterranean culinary heritage, Britain offers a different challenge. The show will likely explore British regional cuisines, from Scottish seafood to Welsh lamb to London's immigrant food cultures, territories that remain underexamined in prestige food television.
This expansion aligns with broader trends in the streaming and cable documentary space. Tucci's success proved that food content could transcend pure instruction or restaurant criticism to become genuine character-driven television. Networks responded by greenlighting travel-based culinary series that prioritize storytelling alongside gastronomy.
National Geographic's decision to continue the franchise reflects confidence in Tucci's brand of approachable sophistication. His dual credentials as an accomplished actor and genuine food enthusiast give the show an authenticity that separates it from celebrity chef programming. He's not performing enthusiasm; he's exploring on camera with visible curiosity.
The Emmy nominations this year position "Tucci in Italy" as a consistent contender in the competitive documentary short form category. Moving to the UK allows the franchise to demonstrate it transcends one geography while maintaining the intimate, travel-based format that audiences have embraced. For Tucci, it represents another chapter in a career that increasingly centers on European exploration and cultural documentation.