The unscripted nature of the show not only lends itself to greater authenticity, but captures moments that couldn't be scripted. For the new season, the cameras were rolling when TJ and Tristan took their first ever plane trip, and one brother said, "I can see heaven. I can see God dancing."
"Of course I'm punching the cameraman, 'did you get it, did you get it?'" Johnson laughed. "You can't write that, or the look in his eyes. I don't think there's better programming out there when you get those moments."
It's not just the hosts or the audience whose horizons are expanded through the series. "Everything we've ever been told about each country has squarely been proven wrong," said Johnson, referring to dire warnings about some of their travel destinations. The production team has even worked with UNICEF to access developing countries and determine how to expose children to positive experiences in poverty-stricken areas.
"You can't believe everything you hear, but have to go out and experience it," he asserted. And for children who can't yet do that for themselves, Are We There Yet?: World Adventure brings the experiences to them.
The second season premieres Monday, September 1 at 12:10 p.m. ET on Treehouse TV.
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