Universal Sports is showcasing its new televised adventure series, ‘Take a Seat: Sharing a Ride across America’, which premiers with back-to-back episodes on Monday 4 April at 20:00 and 20:30 ET/PT.
From the Santa Monica Pier in California through Yellowstone Park in Wyoming, across the Badlands in South Dakota and arriving in Central Park in New York, ‘Take a Seat’ – the network’s first-ever original series – will take viewers on a powerful and inspiring cycling voyage across America.
‘Take a Seat’ is a 10-episode docu-series featuring British adventurer Dominic Gill’s journey across the United States on a tandem bicycle with the help of 10 companions, all of whom suffer from a different physical disability.
In each episode, Gill will bring viewers into the lives of these inspirational riders and their everyday struggles with disabilities that include muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease. Full episodes will be available on Universal Sports’ website as they premiere.
“As Universal Sports looks to add more adventure programming into our line-up, ‘Take a Seat’ is an important first step in this journey,” said David Michaels, Executive Producer of Universal Sports.
“It is a powerful series that combines adventure and inspiration. Each of the companions has an incredible story to tell and watching the evolution of each story provides a compelling tale of making the impossible seem possible.”
“Partnering with Universal Sports has given me an amazing opportunity to share this journey and the experiences of those who took a seat on my bicycle,” said Gill.
“As an adventurer, I was excited for the challenge of cycling across the United States, but to be able to do it while helping others overcome adversities and break boundaries is an honour. I just provided the seat; Ernie and each of my companions provided the inspiration.”
Gill originally developed the series as a tribute to Ernie Greenwald, a 70-year-old man from Lompoc, California battling chronic lymphocytic leukaemia, whose lifelong dream was to cycle across the country.
Gill met Greenwald on a cycling expedition in 2006 and was moved by his passion to live an adventurous life despite his physical condition. Greenwald was supposed to ride in the passenger seat of Gill’s tandem bicycle on the cross-country tour, but had to cancel the trip in early 2010 when he discovered that his cancer had spread.
Determined to keep the trip alive, Gill divided the journey into 10 stages and searched for physically disabled companions who shared Greenwald’s passion for adventure and life. Each companion assumed anywhere from a one- to 25-day segment of the 104-day trek, during which over 4,000 miles were covered.
‘Huckleberry’, Gill’s unique tandem bicycle named after Greenwald’s dog, was donated by Hase, a German manufacturer, and designed with a recumbent front seat and secondary free-wheel mechanism that allows for weak or disabled individuals to endure long distances.
