OLN has set a date for its new acquisition Excellent Adventures, and is working on the Vancouver-made series Word Travels for its midseason slate in early 2008.

The outdoorsy cable channel will run Excellent Adventures, an import from the U.K., Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET starting Sept. 6. Each episode pairs a celebrity with a trusted partner, who are then dropped off somewhere on the globe, leading to Minnie Driver’s Excellent Adventure, to name one. Other celebrities on the show include Vinnie Jones (X-Men: The Last Stand), Neil Morrissey (Men Behaving Badly), former footballer Ian Wright, comedian Harry Enfield and comedian/journalist Dom Joly.

The channel is also working on Word Travels for January 2008. The 13 x 30 gives a glimpse into the seemingly glamorous world of travel journalism and comes from Vancouver-based Omni Films. It follows two of Canada’s top travel writers, Robin Esrock and Julia Dimon, to 12 countries. Esrock’s online travel column, ‘Modern Gonzo,’ has acquired a cult following and is printed in the Vancouver Sun, the South China Morning Post and the Chicago Tribune. Dimon writes the ‘Road Warrior’ column for Metro News in Toronto, Vancouver, Ottawa, Edmonton and Calgary.

In the meantime, OLN is capping off its summer primetime programming with OLN Travel Week, from Monday, Aug. 27 to Friday, Aug. 31.

The week-long primetime event will feature specials, a new season of Pilot Guides, and highlights including Exploration with Richard Wiese, Outrageous Vacation Videos, the one-hour special on India, Which Way to Wagah, and Paris, a three-part special on the City of Lights and the famous people who’ve lived there.

From Media in Canada