In television, the holiday season is typically filled with programming stunts, movie classics and specials catering to the whole family. One might expect all of the Scripps networks to keep with tradition and follow suit. But one of them -- Travel Channel -- is trying something slightly different this year: A series of specials, as well as special episodes from popular series, collectively comprising what Scripps refers to as a "Chillcation." Unlike most holiday programming initiatives this one doesn’t begin until Christmas evening with Alaska -- Water and Ice, which explores natural (rather than man-made) waterparks in that state. Viewers who tune in to "Chillcation" programs will see the network’s biggest stars -- including Josh Gates, Jack Maxwell, Anthony Melchiorri, Don Wildman, Andrew Zimmern and Zak Bagans -- in a new light as they are immersed in places unknown instead of basking in the warmth of a studio environment.
The development of the "Chillcation" programming has been overseen by Courtney White, Senior Vice President of Programming for Travel Channel. An 11-year veteran of Scripps Networks Interactive, she is a self-professed lover of place-based storytelling -- and last December, when she moved over to Travel Channel (after serving as a senior programming executive for HGTV, DIY Network and Great American Country), she found a place to explore wild on-location adventures -- including the hunt for a woolly mammoth in a "Chillcation" episode of Josh Gates' series Expedition Unknown (see photo below).
Mary Ellen Holden: What is "Chillcation" all about?
Courtney White: "Chillcation">