The Detour
What’s it about?
The Detour chronicles a family road trip to Florida. Mom, Dad and the kids spending some quality time together – what could possibly go wrong?
Starring
Jason Jones Natalie Zea, Ashley Gerasimovich, Liam Carroll, Daniella Pineda
An Introduction to The Detour
Nate (Jason Jones) is a regular, decent guy who does the best he can for his family. Together with his partner, Robin (Natalie Zea) and kids, Delilah (Ashley Gerasimovich) and Jared (Liam Carroll), they are looking forward to a relaxing beach holiday in Florida.
Leaving their house and cat in the less-than-capable hands of Robin’s flaky sister, Vanessa (Daniella Pineda), the family set off in their trusty ol’ people carrier to catch a night flight… or at least, that was what they agreed on.
Surprise! Nate had a last-minute change of plan while they were asleep en route to the airport. Wouldn’t a road trip be much more fun..?
Summary
The Detour is the brainchild of actor Jason Jones and comedian Samantha Bee, both veterans of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Bee can currently be seen hosting the popular news satire program, ‘Full Frontal with Samantha Bee’. The couple’s real-life family vacation experiences were the inspiration for the show.
On the surface, this show may look reminiscent of National Lampoon’s Vacation film series and, while the initial premise may have a few inevitable similarities, The Detour quickly becomes its own chaotic beast. It’s modern, irreverent, sometimes outrageous and often charming. The opening credits set the scene well: a deliberately cheesy, happy family montage rapidly degenerates into a glitch-filled mess comprised of recent embarrassments.
Refreshingly, The Detour doesn’t rely on lazy sitcom/advertising cliches for the main players – no ‘useless dad’ or ‘super mom’ stereotypes; every member of the family is equally capable of being an idiot or an inspiration, and the sense that this is a close family in spite of everything really comes across.
Give The Detour a go – it’s a comedy journey that unfolds an episode at a time (see also: Galavant) so we’re in familiar binge-watcher territory. The family are good fun, the twists and turns are enjoyably unpredictable and there are even moments of intrigue. Goodness!
Check out the Season 1 Trailer here:
