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LOS ANGELES, July 14 (UPI) -- Hosts Adam Pally and Jon Gabrus said their travel show, 101 Places to Party Before You Die, premiering Thursday on TruTV, was more demanding than they expected. "Sometimes, the timing has you having three Mai Tais before you sit in with the Maui Rescue Team," Gabrus told UPI in a recent phone interview.
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Gabrus and Pally, both 40, visit Denver, Miami, Maui, Hawaii, Portland, Ore., Richmond, Va., Atlanta and Puerto Rico in the first season. They sample local cuisine, beverages and activities.
"You have to put in a little bit of effort to consume that much and bounce back the next day for more consumption," Gabrus said.
Not all of their gluttony made it to air. Gabrus joked about a segment he would call "Too Gross for TV."
"There's a lot of drinking and eating that ends up on the cutting room floor," Gabrus said.
Pally said activities like skiing and playing jai alai helped mitigate a lot of the eating they did on the show. They also went to the gym every morning before filming.
"We're still vain," Pally said. "So while I'm sure we did gain weight, neither of us came off the road and were like, 'Oh, my god.'"
The hosts dress appropriately for each location. For example they bundled up in the Denver winter and wore shorts and flowered shirts in Miami. Pally said they packed their own wardrobe.
"We tried to dress like you would packing for a trip," Pally said. "If you're in Miami, you're going to be wearing shorts."
In Miami, they also tried to recreate the famous shot from Bad Boys in which Miami police officers Mike Lowrey (Will Smith) and Marcus Burnett (Martin Lawrence) rise up while the camera spins around them. Neither was satisfied with their version.
"Despite our best efforts, we just don't have the charisma of one Will Smith and one Martin Lawrence," Gabrus said.
The production helped the hosts pick an eclectic group of eight cities to visit, Gabrus said. He said he chose Maui, and Pally chose Atlanta because they both spend time in those cities.
"We wanted some cities that were classic party cities like Miami," Gabrus said. "We also wanted some cities that were like, 'Yo, did you know Richmond is a party city?'"
Even in the cities with which they were familiar, Pally said the production found opportunities that were new to him.
"We tried to go in with no preconceived notions but with our own organic history," Pally said. "If you know a place and you love it, you want to bring the production."
Pally said he and Gabrus participate in a Nerf gun fighting club in Atlanta. Gabrus said they met a blacksmith apprentice in Portland and a colorful bartender in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
101 Places to Party Before You Die maintained COVID-19 safety protocols during production. Viewers will see camera crew members wearing masks and servers at various restaurants masking, too.
"We were aware we're a film crew and we need to be able to work eight weeks in a row in different cities, so we're taking care of ourselves," Gabrus said.
He said the show filmed after the Omicron spike, but before the BA.5 variant spike.
"We landed in a lull," Gabrus said. "It ended up being the safest run I've had."
As Gabrus and Pally embarked on the production, they said they found the country supported promoting reopening. Pally said the challenges of COVID-19 protocols were worth it for the rewards.
"America was so welcoming," Pally said. "We've all been cooped up, so if you say it's safe -- that we can all go out and have a drink -- then America wants to have a drink."
As an actor, Pally has appeared on network comedies like Happy Endings and family friendly movies like Iron Man 3 and Sonic the Hedgehog 2. Gabrus has appeared on Younger and in the movie Bombshell between live improv and podcast appearances. Neither actor censored themselves for TruTV.
101 Places to Party bleeps the casual profanities the hosts dropped in conversations on location. Pally joked that there are bigger issues in the world than their language.
"I'm more concerned about the rights of women being taken away than my potty mouth," Pally said.
Gabrus added, "The bleeps are not as important as the crypto-fascist takeover of the Supreme Court."
With eight cities down, Gabrus and Pally hope to complete their title's promise and visit 93 more.
"Babe Ruth used to point to the bleachers for his home run," Gabrus said. "We decided to name our show 101 Places and just roll the dice that we'll get to all of them."
Pally suggested some of the sights he's set on for a second season.
"Just in North America, I'd love to go to Canada and Mexico, eventually Europe and Asia," Pally said
Gabrus even said they'd go beyond 101 if the show is a success.
"Hopefully, our choice in the title of our show was an undershot," Gabrus said. "I'll do 102. I ain't got nothing going on."
101 Places to Party Before You Die airs Thursdays at 10:30 p.m. EDT on TruTV.
