Martin Clunes: Islands of America

This four-part series follows Martin Clunes as he travels round the islands and coasts of the USA, meeting people and getting to know about their lives and cultures and stories. Over the course for four episodes, we will be taking a playful yet informative look at the complexities and intricacies of island and coastal life across America. We weave together stories of wildlife conservation, culture, food, history to create a varied, light-hearted and informative series. From the epic salmon runs of Kodiak Island to the dunes and fun-seekers of Fire Island; from the orca playgrounds of the San Juan Islands, to the creole swamps of Georgia and Louisiana; from the wild and the primitive to the sophisticated and the urbane; from the grizzly bear to the land of latter-day 'great Gatsbies'.....each island stop has its own character and its own unique story to tell.....and each one offers a new way of examining a country we imagine we know so well. Starting in in the frigid waters of Alaska, Martin works his way south along the coast of Washington State and California, before crossing to Louisiana, Florida, and Georgia. Finally, his journey - by boat and plane - steers him north up past Long Island, bringing him to the coast of New England long before the leaves begin to turn. Along the way, he rides with saltwater cowboys on Assateague; enters a hot dog eating contest on Coney Island; fishes for giant halibut off the Alaskan coast; joins a gospel choir with the isolated descendants of plantation slaves; he shucks clams, dives with seals and samples life on an island which hasn't had a shop since 1942.