The Road Trip on Paramount Plus is a romantic comedy that brings to life another bestseller by author Beth O'Leary as it follows on from the success of Paramount’s previous hit drama The Flatshare, also a book by Beth O’Leary.
Starring Emma Appleton, Laurie Davidson and David Jonsson, this series follows Addie (Appleton) who is on a road trip to a friend’s wedding in Spain when she’s forced to share the ride with her ex Dylan (Laurie Davidson). Flitting between the past and the present, the show focuses on giving love another shot and explores whether someone can be the right person but at the wrong time.
Novelist Beth O’Leary, author of The Road Trip, says: "I'm so thrilled to finally be able to shout about this news! 42 and Paramount Plus were the dream team behind The Flatshare series, so it's wonderful to know The Road Trip is in such safe, skilled hands.
"From my very first glimpse at an early script for this show, I knew it was going to be something really special, and now that we have our incredible cast lined up, I just cannot wait to see The Road Trip brought to life."
Here’s everything you need to know about The Road Trip on Paramount Plus…
The Road Trip release date
The Road Trip is a six-part series that will premiere in in the UK, Canada and Australia on Paramount Plus on Thursday December 26 2024, so a lovely Boxing Day treat! When a US release date is announced, we’ll update you on here.
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Is there a trailer for The Road Trip?
Yes there's both an official and teaser trailer for The Road Trip. You can watch both below to see all the romance and joy in Spain...
The Road Trip plot
The Road Trip follows Addie (Emma Appleton) is setting off on a road trip in a creaky campervan with her sister Deb (Isabella Laughland), heading to a friend’s wedding in Spain. However, they hit a bump in the road when they have to share the ride with Addie’s ex, Dylan (Laurie Davidson), his best friend Marcus (Industry star David Jonsson) and a complete stranger called Rodney (Angus Imrie).
The story intercuts between Addie and Dylan’s intoxicating holiday romance in the past and the surreal escapades on their road trip in the present. But everyone has secrets and life in a campervan offers no place to hide. Plus, they all have different ideas about what really happened during their holiday fling and why the pair broke up. Will Addie and Dylan’s journey back to where they first fell in love lead them to an unexpected happily-ever-after?
The Road Trip cast — Emma Appleton as Addie
Lead actor on The Road Trip is Emma Appleton plays Addie, who is forced into close quarters with her ex. "There’s a magnetism between Addie and Dylan and something’s unresolved there," says Emma. "They can't run away from hard truths when they’re in that van!
‘The brilliant thing about filming this in Gran Canaria is there are so many different terrains,’ Emma tells us during a break in filming. ‘There’s this villa where we’ve spent a lot of time, that’s so green and beautiful with views of the sea, then you can be somewhere that’s dry, deserted and a bit like the Wild West!’
* Emma Appleton has starred in The Killing Kind, Lola, Everything I Know About Love, The Last Letter from your Lover, Traitors and The Witcher. She also played Nancy Spungen in the series Pistol, about The Sex Pistols.
Laurie Davidson as Dylan
Laurie Davidson is playing Addie’s ex Dylan. He previously played William Shakespeare in the series Will and has also had roles in Cats, The Good Liar, The Sandman, Guilty Party and The Last Kingdom: Seven Kings Must Die.
David Jonsson as Marcus
David Jonsson takes on the role of Dylan’s best friend Marcus. He previously starred as Gus in the hit series Industry and has also been in Endeavour, Deep State and Rye Lane. He has a lead role in BBC1's Agatha Christie mystery Murder Is Easy.
Who else is starring in the Road Trip?
Other stars of The Road Trip include Isabella Laughland (Foundation, Trigonometry) who plays Addie’s sister Deb and Angus Imrie (The Crown, Fleabag, The Archers) who plays Rodney, who bags a lift with the gang.
RuPaul’s Drag Race UK runner-up, Michael Marouli guest stars as a locl drag performer (see pictured below).
Behind the scenes, locations and more on The Road Trip
The Road Trip is filmed on location in Bristol and this island of Gran Canaria which is part of Spain. 42 is producing the 6 x 45 min series in association with PTIS – the international studio division of Paramount Global. The drama was commissioned by Sebastian Cardwell, Paramount's Deputy Chief Content Officer, UK.
Sebastian Cardwell says “We saw brilliant success across the globe with The Flatshare, and we are thrilled to be working with 42 again on adapting another of Beth’s much-loved and best-selling novels. The Road Trip is the perfect addition to our expanding drama slate on Paramount+ and I can’t wait to see this incredible cast bring these characters to life.”
China Moo-Young (Everything I Know About Love) is lead director of The Road Trip and Stella Corradi (Killing Eve) will direct block two. Executive producers for 42 are Miriam Brent, Rory Aitken and Eleanor Moran. Nikki Wilson (Wolf, Doctor Who) is producer and Kingsley Hoskins (The Girl Before, The Flatshare) is co-producer. Ryan O’Sullivan & Matilda Wnek (Vigil 2) are the lead writers and serve as executive producers on the series. Phoebe Eclair-Powell (Two Weeks To Live) writes episodes three and four, with Olivier award-winning Waleed Akhtar (The P Word) writing episode five.
Miriam Brent, Rory Aitken and Eleanor Moran, Executive Producers at 42 said: “We are so excited to be setting off on The Road Trip. It’s a unique privilege to be trusted with a second Beth O’Leary bestseller, and Ryan and Matilda have done an extraordinary job of translating the hilarious and poignant narrative to the screen. With the brilliant China Moo Young in the driving seat as lead director and such a wonderful cast, it’s going to be one hell of a ride!”
