I’ve traveled to Florence to spend time with Tucci while he films his new 10-part docuseries, Tucci in Italy, with National Geographic and BBC, which premieres on May 18. He has been filming for four months, with another three to go, but the show is already highly anticipated: Two years prior to filming in 2024, CNN canceled his two-season Emmy-winning show, Tucci: Searching For Italy, which had gained an avid following thanks to the actor’s charming deep dive into the culinary scene in Italy, his motherland. From chatting with the locals of Naples, the birthplace of pizza, to indulging in tastings of Minoro’s fresh limoncello—the world learned the potential of Tucci as a well-rounded, fun, and informative travel host.
This time around, Tucci says, he felt “more himself.” “As an actor, when storytelling, I was always playing a character,” he explains. “It didn’t feel so natural to present myself to the world, as myself.” Since Searching For Italy’s cancellation, though, he’s continued to find his footing as the ambassador of a certain brand of good living: He’s released a new book, What I Ate in One Year, and is growing his loyal base of followers thanks to his ongoing cooking and negroni making on Instagram.
For the National Geographic show, Tucci says viewers won’t find him “climbing up anything” as some travel hosts on the channel do. Instead he will be doing what he does best: spending time with people and their stories in some of his favorite regions of Italy, whether that’s one of the few remaining southern-Tuscan cattle herders or a relentless nonna who doesn’t trust even the butcher to cut the meat from her farm. Tucci, who researched and scouted chefs, tastemakers, locals, and foodies with the production team for months leading up to filming, says he wants the people they spotlight to “feel like they don’t have to perform” and for the show to “feel truly authentic.” There’s also a greater sense of history and connection between the episodes this time, says Tucci. In one, we see him return to Tuscany for the famous bareback horse race Palio di Siena, where he films in the kitchen with local Sienese chefs ahead of the Contrada dinner, a gigantic communal feast to celebrate the race and feeds each of the city’s 17 districts.
Dining and Cooking