Long Way Up is a British television series which debuted 18 September 2020, documenting a motorcycle journey undertaken in 2019 by Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman, from Ushuaia in Argentina through South and Central America to Los Angeles in the United States.[2] It is a follow-up to 2004's Long Way Round where the pair rode from London to New York and then again in 2007 Long Way Down, when they rode south from John o' Groats in Scotland through eighteen countries in Europe and Africa to Cape Town in South Africa.
The first three episodes of Long Way Up premiered globally on Apple TV+ on Friday, 18 September 2020, and eight further episodes aired weekly through to 13 November 2020.[1]
Overview
The journey covered 13,000 miles, through 13 countries over 100 days starting on 5 September 2019 and finishing on 14 December 2019. They rode Harley-Davidson LiveWire electric motorcycles manufactured by Harley-Davidson that had been converted into adventure bikes. Accompanying Ewan and Charley are the same key team members from Long Way Round and Long Way Down, including director/producers David Alexanian and Russ Malkin and directors of photography Jimmy Simak and Claudio Von Planta. Also joining is associate producer Taylor Estevez and cinematographer Anthony Von Seck. The production team followed Ewan and Charley’s route in prototype Rivian electric trucks built especially for the journey.[3] Cars and motorcycles were charged at charging points built especially for the journey by Rivian. They were supported by diesel powered vehicles and generators and back up bikes.
The title song was performed by Welsh group Stereophonics, and is similar to the Long Way Round and Long Way Down theme with the lyrics "round" and "down" replaced with "up".[6] Other artists to feature include: Jhony Rojas (two songs under Astronauta, two with Passto and four with Últimos Glaciares), Totó la Momposina, Aurelio, Sidestepper, Los de Abajo and Charlie Winston.[7][8] During Episode 6 in Bolivia, McGregor performs an acoustic guitar cover of Endlessly by Muse, from their album Absolution.[9]
Critical reception
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds an approval rating of 100% based on 6 reviews, with an average user rating of 8.50/10.[10]
UNICEF
During Long Way Round, Ewan and Charley visited three UNICEF programmes in Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and Mongolia and then after they were made UK ambassadors, the pair embarked on their second adventure Long Way Down and saw UNICEF’s work with child soldiers in Uganda and land-mine awareness programmes in Ethiopia. The Long Way Up series sees the duo visit three more UNICEF programmes in Bolivia, Peru and Honduras.[11] In Bolivia, Ewan and Charley visit the UNICEF supported Quechua indigenous Challamayu School and attend a bilingual lesson taught in Spanish and traditional Quechuan. The UNICEF program is designed to give indigenous Bolivian children the opportunity to learn and further their education in their own language.[12]
