Ewan McGregor Long Way Up Filming Dates Spark Debate
The clearest answer is that Long Way Up was filmed in fall 2019, with reliable reporting and series listings placing the ride from September 5, 2019 to December 14, 2019, before the series premiered on Apple TV+ in September 2020.
What the filming dates were
Long Way Up documents a 13,000-mile motorcycle journey by Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman that ran from Ushuaia in Argentina north through South and Central America to Los Angeles, and the travel itself was completed in 2019 rather than in 2020, even though viewers saw it later.
The strongest date window available in public sources is 5 September 2019 through 14 December 2019, which matches the reported 100-day duration of the trip and the finished route through 13 countries.
| Detail | Reported information |
|---|---|
| Filming period | September 5, 2019 to December 14, 2019 |
| Trip length | About 100 days |
| Route | Ushuaia, Argentina to Los Angeles, United States |
| Distance | About 13,000 miles / 21,000 km |
| Premiere | September 18, 2020, on Apple TV+ |
Why people debate the dates
Some of the debate comes from early pre-production talk in 2019, when Charley Boorman said filming would begin "within a few months," which created a fuzzy timeline before the actual departure date became known.
Another source of confusion is that the trip was filmed in 2019, but the finished Apple TV+ series did not debut until September 2020, so viewers often conflate the filming year with the release year.
Key timeline
- June 2019: Public confirmation that filming would begin soon.
- September 5, 2019: The journey begins in Ushuaia, Argentina.
- December 14, 2019: The ride concludes in Los Angeles.
- September 18, 2020: The series premieres on Apple TV+.
What was filmed
The production followed McGregor and Boorman across South America, Central America, and Mexico on prototype electric Harley-Davidson LiveWire motorcycles, with support vehicles and a documentary crew capturing the expedition as it unfolded.
That makes Long Way Up different from a staged travel series: the footage was gathered during a real expedition, with the route, weather, elevation, and border crossings shaping the production schedule.
"Covering 13,000 miles over 100 days through 16 border crossings and 13 countries," the production was described as the duo's most challenging expedition to date.
Route and scale
The route was not just long; it was logistically demanding. McGregor and Boorman crossed 13 countries and reached places where terrain, altitude, and climate made electric-bike travel especially difficult, which is part of why the filming window stretched across roughly three months.
By the time the crew reached North America, the calendar pressure mattered because winter conditions would have made the final stretch far more difficult, a detail noted in early reporting about why the start date landed in early autumn.
- Start point: Ushuaia, Argentina.
- End point: Los Angeles, California.
- Vehicle type: Electric Harley-Davidson LiveWire prototypes.
- Travel span: Roughly 100 days.
- Countries crossed: 13.
Why the filming dates matter
The filming dates matter because they explain the geography, weather, and editing cadence behind the show, especially since the series was launched more than nine months after the expedition ended.
They also help settle the debate around whether Long Way Up was "recently filmed" when it premiered; it was not, because the core production happened in late 2019, before the 2020 release.
Context from the franchise
Long Way Up is the third major chapter in the travel-doc franchise that began with Long Way Round and continued with Long Way Down, so the project arrived with a built-in audience and high expectations.
That franchise history helps explain why interest in the exact filming dates remains strong: fans track the trips almost like a live adventure log, even when the finished series appears much later.
In practical terms, the most defensible answer is simple: Long Way Up was filmed from early September to mid-December 2019, then released in September 2020.
Expert answers to Ewan Mcgregor Long Way Up Filming Dates Spark Debate queries
Was Long Way Up filmed in 2020?
No. The journey was filmed in 2019, and the series premiered in September 2020 on Apple TV+.
How long did filming take?
Public sources consistently describe the trip as lasting about 100 days, which aligns with the September-to-December 2019 filming window.
Where did filming start?
Filming started in Ushuaia, Argentina, at the southern tip of South America.
Why do some articles say "within months"?
That wording came from early 2019 announcements about when production would begin, not from the actual shoot dates, so it referred to planning rather than the completed filming schedule.