An Idiot Abroad follows the star of The Ricky Gervais Show, Karl Pilkington as he undertakes a journey of a lifetime. British comedy legends Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant throw down the gauntlet to send Karl around the globe to force him out of his comfort zone – Stephen wants the experience to broaden Karl's mind and change his outlook on the world but Ricky wants Karl to hate every minute of it for his own amusement.

Dispatched on what many would term a journey of a lifetime, the 'little Englander' will be putting his misgivings to one side as Karl finds out for himself what the fuss is about. He will travel to the Great Wall of China, Christ the Redeemer in Brazil, Petra in Jordan, Machu Picchu in Peru, Chichen Itza in Mexico, the Taj Mahal in India and the Great Pyramids of Egypt. Meanwhile Gervais and Merchant will be keeping a watchful eye from London, monitoring every step of Pilkington's journey.

The conclusion of the series sees the weary traveller returning home to report on his findings. Karl commented: "They all laughed at Columbus when he said the world was round. Now Ricky wants people to laugh at me cos my head is round. I'm Karlumbus. Thing is, I've seen places that Ricky will probably never see in his life so I suppose I get the last laugh. Mind you, if he suddenly got into the idea of travel I would tell him not to bother with China or Egypt".