The Great Muslim American Road Trip

A couple takes a lively, inquisitive journey across the United States visiting Muslim-related sites and finding representation even in unlikely places in this gentle, fun show. First and foremost, Mona and Sebastian are pleasant people to spend time with: interested in what's around them, enthusiastic ("People are so cool!" says Mona with real feeling after visiting with a Coachella date farmer), kindly and respectful toward strangers, and loving to each other. In fact, part of the couple's journey is spent investigating their own relationship, especially on car rides where they gently bicker, reminisce, and then reconnect.

The rest of The Great Muslim American Road Trip is more of a traditional travelogue, as Mona and Sebastian root out spots of interest. They meet a street performer on the Las Vegas strip who holds the Guinness World Record in head-spinning and connects his work to the whirling dervishes from the Islamic discipline Sufism. They visit a Muslim free clinic in San Bernardino, take young refugees on a hike and quiz them about their career goals, and walk through the Grand Canyon. In some segments, Mona and Sebastian read aloud to each other from poems and stories about traveling the U.S., like Jack Kerouac's On the Road and John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath, as scenes from their trip play over the narration, beautifully illuminating the passages. If travel is expanding, so is this lovely show.