Rendezvous in unknown land is the program mixing people and exploration from France Télévisions. She takes stars to discover the most distant cultures and the most remote areas…
Meeting in unknown land regularly returns to France 2 to discover a new region of the globe in the company of a celebrity. Based on an original idea by Frédéric Lopez, the show has been inviting French public figures since 2004 to step out of their comfort zone to live a unique experience at the heart of little-known cultures and civilizations. Meeting in unknown land is intended to be much more than a simple entertainment program and presents itself as a true initiatory journey, which pushes guests to surpass themselves and question their vision of the world.
The concept of Meeting in unknown land is simple but effective: a celebrity agrees to leave for a destination kept secret until the last moment. For ten days, she will share the daily life of an isolated tribe or community, cut off from all contact with its hectic Parisian life. Without a phone, watch or other object of the modern world. The culture shock is often brutal for these stars accustomed to comfort and glitter.
A gallery of very prestigious guests
Over the years, many prestigious guests have joined the game, from Muriel Robin at the Raika in India, to Adriana Karembeu in the Himalayas, via Thierry Lhermitte at the Tao in Indonesia. More recently, Lambert Wilson shared the daily life of the Agta, a people of seafaring nomads in the Philippines. Everyone said they were transformed by this enchanted parenthesis where time seems to stand still.
Meeting in unknown land is not just a simple immersion in a postcard setting. It is also an opportunity to highlight the richness of these ancestral cultures threatened by globalization and global warming. Through the guest’s eyes, the viewer discovers lifestyles in harmony with nature, based on values of sharing and mutual respect. A precious testimony for future generations.
Each number of Meeting in unknown land is a highly anticipated event by fans of the show. Broadcast in prime time on France 2, the program attracts an average of 5 million viewers each edition. The show even gave rise to spin-off shows: Return to unknown land which invites people from a visited tribe or people to come to France in turn to recount this period of sharing and Our unknown lands, seeking to raise awareness of French regions little known to the general public. The first issue, broadcast in April 2018 and hosted at the time by Frédéric Lopez, allowed Malik Bentalha to discover another side of the Cevennes.
Frédéric Lopez left his show in 2019 Meeting in unknown land to Raphael de Casabianca. The new face of the France 2 program is an experienced traveler. He notably traveled across Europe by train but also traveled around the world accompanied only by his backpack. Raphaël de Casabianca is also trained in television and in particular video editing. For example, he was an assistant editor on Saga, Stéphane Bern’s show, before working for Disney Channel where he was responsible for delivering travel reports for children. It was in 2013 that he took charge of Echappées Belles on France 5. He hosted the show for 5 years, the time to present 60 shows.
First guest of the post-Lopez era, Franck Gastambide does not seem to have lost out since he obviously greatly appreciated the experience in the company of Raphaël de Casabianca. “I didn’t have the impression of leaving with a TV host but with a traveler with a big heart. He immediately knew how to make himself loved,” he explained in March 2019 in Le Parisien.
Nearly 15 years after the start of Meeting in unknown land, Frédéric Lopez decided to leave the show. A decision carefully considered by the host of France 2. “It had been on my mind for a long time,” he explained to Télé Loisirs in December 2018 when his departure was announced. “I’m obsessed with sincerity. […] I needed to decant. To settle down. To see people again rather than travel.”
He also said he bought a house in the Cévennes after filming an episode of Our unknown lands. “Today I need to find people.”
Learn more
Meeting in unknown land is broadcast on France 2 in prime time and is very successful. It must be recognized that the countries and peoples chosen are virtually unknown to the general public, which creates interest both for the celebrity chosen and for the peoples encountered. Between moments of emotion, tragedies linked to history and laughter, the team shares all of this on the air.
As the show is broadcast irregularly, depending on filming, guests and destinations, the dates of new episodes of Meeting in unknown land on France 2 are generally known only a few weeks in advance.
If you missed the broadcast on air, don’t panic! The show is available for free in streaming replay for several weeks on the france.tv platform. It is possible to review Meeting in unknown land in streaming and replay by connecting to the portal. You will have access to the latest videos from the show with previous guests who took part in the journey.