Leave Plenty of ‘Riggle Room’ for the Informative and Fun ROB RIGGLE: GLOBAL INVESTIGATOR on Discovery

By BILL HARRIS Special to The Lede Rob Riggle’s comic persona, which he describes as “arrogant ignorance,” has been a highly successful presence in TV and movies for many years. That’s why he doesn’t want anyone to get the wrong idea about his new show ROB RIGGLE: GLOBAL INVESTIGATOR. Yes, Riggle’s comedic stylings are a big part of the series, which debuts Wednesday, March 11 at 8 p.m. ET, on Discovery. But he wants viewers to understand something very important. “This is a Discovery show,” Riggle promised. “I’m just sprinkling in some humour. But I’m not making fun of the genre, not by any stretch of the imagination. Because I’m a fan. So I don’t want to mock it, I want to celebrate it.” ROB RIGGLE: GLOBAL INVESTIGATOR sees the comedian, actor, and retired Marine travelling the globe to unearth some of the world’s greatest legends and mysteries. In his quest for answers to humanity’s biggest questions, he teams up with experts and scholars who help him use history, archaeology, science, and more to uncover the truth. “To be honest, I’ve been a fan of the Discovery Channel for a long time,” Riggle said. “I watch it constantly, and I’m curious about history, and I’m curious about mystery. Like most people my age, I grew up loving Indiana Jones. And so I thought it might be fun if I cross streams on Indiana Jones and the Pink Panther. But I wanted to do a Discovery show that is a Discovery show, that really dives into real things, real facts, real archeology.” The trailer for ROB RIGGLE: GLOBAL INVESTIGATOR gives a good indication of the combination of real-life conundrums and Riggle-esque humour that the show taps into. General subject matters are listed as, “Atlantis, Holy Grail, Pirate Treasure, Cowboy Treasure, 9th Legion, UFOs,” leading up to the tag line: “True mysteries, real adventure, mixed results.” “When I’m talking to these experts, I’ve tried to ask questions that I would want to know if I were sitting at home,” Riggle said. “I’m not getting handed questions by producers all the time, saying, ‘You should ask this because it’s important to the story.’ No, no, I don’t want to know that, I want to know this. So that’s kind of what I try to do.” ROB RIGGLE: GLOBAL INVESTIGATOR obviously isn’t a wildlife show in a technical sense, but the host does run afoul of some creatures from time to time. “We’re out there in the fields, we’re out there in the oceans, on the beaches, on location, oftentimes in the jungle – and I’m no fan of snakes,” Riggle admitted. “I don’t hate them, but I definitely don’t cuddle up with them. So when I see them, I like to maintain a healthy distance. I keep a respectful distance between myself and most animals in the wild. Getting to do SHARK WEEK with Discovery (in the past couple of years), I had an opportunity to be around sharks and experience that. But I always try to maintain a healthy respect. Look, I love adventure. I love going out there and discovering and learning things. But I’m not a fool.” And let’s be honest, a lot of ROB RIGGLE: GLOBAL INVESTIGATOR simply has to do with Riggle wanting to run around and dress up like Indiana Jones, or one of the knights from MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL, and pretend he’s in some of his favourite movies from the past, right? A smiling Riggle pointed and nodded in confirmation, signalling, “At last, someone finally gets it!” “Yes, you’re right about all those things, and you’re going to get a lot of GHOSTBUSTERS and CADDYSHACK coming up, too,” he said. “I do pay homage to those things, because I love them. This has been a dream come true, because I absolutely love watching Discovery, I watch all the UFO shows, I watch all the nature shows, and I’m a history buff. So to take my love of comedy, and my love of history, and mystery, and slap them together, I’m super excited about it.” billharristv@gmail.com @billharris_tv