Focus Features wanted to develop an original digital series that they could utilize as a place to showcase their diverse film slate while engaging and broadening their current fanbase. The task—create and establish a unique voice for fans who love the art and craft of film, while enticing the next generation of cinephiles through a film-focused digital travelogue series, touring the locations that make our favorite movies look and feel "reel."
Much like Focus Features’ films, the production of REEL DESTINATIONS was approached to be a cinematic experience not hindered by borders or barriers. The docu-series features host Alicia Malone as she travels the globe, exploring the role locations play in the studio’s upcoming films and classic titles.
Every episode explores the intimate details of each location through interviews with locals, home/property owners, and more to transport audiences into their favorite films. From the halls of Highclere Castle, the grand estate most widely known as Downton Abbey, to the plantations of Virginia where Harriet Tubman escaped and returned to free her fellow enslaved people in the film Harriet, REEL DESTINATIONS gives a voice to the places that help filmmakers tell their stories.
The series premiered exclusively online on Facebook Watch, IGTV, and YouTube with an episode exploring the locations of Downton Abbey. New episodes dropped in alignment with theatrical release dates of their corresponding films to engage moviegoers.
With over 1.5M views in the show’s first 72hrs, positive sentiment and engagement have been strong episode to episode, greenlighting the series into pre-production for an all-new season. The show has since garnered over 6.5M views and also served as high-performing media creative that contributed to the theatrical successes of Harriet and Downton Abbey, including the latter’s becoming the largest theatrical opening in Focus Features’ history.
