Older and colder: Coogan and Brydon reunite for The Trip to the Northern Lights 

It’s been over five years since Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon last clinked glasses over grilled octopus and deadpan impressions in The Trip to Greece, and fans have been clamouring for one more course. Now, the duo is returning,  thermals packed and egos intact, for The Trip to the Northern Lights, a brand-new six-part Sky Original comedy series from award-winning director Michael Winterbottom.

Yes, the bickering besties are back – older, perhaps wiser, and certainly colder – as they trade sun-drenched terraces for snow-dusted fjords and chase fine food, cultural enlightenment, and the elusive Aurora Borealis across Scandinavia. 

Part travelogue, part semi-scripted therapy session, The Trip has always been more than just a comedy of culinary manners. It’s a meandering, metaphor-rich meditation on middle age, friendship, and fame,  albeit one punctuated by wildly inappropriate Roger Moore impersonations and theatrical duels over who does the better Pacino.

The Trip has always been more than just a comedy of culinary manners. It’s a meandering, metaphor-rich meditation on middle age, friendship, and fame…

Each season of The Trip takes place in a different location. The original saw the pair travel across Northern England. They then took to the road in Italy, Spain, and Greece. 

This time, Coogan (still 59) and Brydon (now 60) will journey through the frostbitten beauty of Northern Europe, from Sweden’s sculptural ice hotels to remote Norwegian fishing huts. Along the way, they will no doubt reflect on ageing, ambition, family and legacy – but mostly argue about James Bond and podcasting etiquette.

“I’m delighted that Michael Winterbottom has managed to persuade me at the age of 59 to join Rob, aged 60, to squeeze the last few drops of comedy from a bottle that we both thought was pretty much empty,” quips Coogan, wry as ever.

Brydon, meanwhile, seems just as enthused: “I’m so pleased to be heading out on a Trip once again, this time to beautiful Scandinavia – and how lovely to do it while Steve Coogan, Michael Winterbottom and I still have most of our faculties.”

The formula may be familiar, but with each new location comes a fresh lens through which to watch these two masters at work: one endlessly peacocking for validation, the other happy to needle and nudge until the next round of salted herring arrives.

With filming set to begin later this year, The Trip to the Northern Lights promises an experience equal parts Arctic escapism and philosophical one-upmanship. Executive producer Meghan Lyvers of Sky UK describes it as “a smart, surprising and brilliantly funny new chapter,” adding that the show’s “singular blend of comedy, character and cultural commentary feels as fresh as ever.”

Fresh indeed, though we’d bet on a few familiar routines making the cut. Whether it’s Brydon’s “small man in a box” routine echoing across a frozen lake or Coogan lamenting the state of the BAFTAs from a Swedish sauna (he won a BAFTA for his work on the show back in 2011), The Trip continues to be the perfect blend of travel television and self-satirising farce.

The Trip to the Northern Lights will be available on Sky and NOW in the UK and Ireland