Chillin Island

Chillin Island is an unscripted HBO reality series that aired six episodes between Dec 17, 2021 and January 28, 2022. It was executive-produced by DreamCrew, a production company owned by Drake. The series based on the radio show of the same name. It is hosted by Alec "Despot" Reinstein, Ashok "Dap" Kondabalu, and Aleksey "Lakutis" Weintraub, all from New York City. It features guests like Young Thug and Lil Yachty. Together, the stars visit natural sites, like deserts and swamps, with the goal of having profound realizations. It is slow television.

Format
Each unscripted episode follows Despot, Dap, and Lakutis on an outdoor excursion with a celebrity guest from hip hop culture. It is narrated by Steven Wright. Each episode gives an end credit to John Lurie, creator of 1991 show Fishing with John.

Reception
Chillin Island received mixed reviews. Variety wrote that the show gives "the boring feeling of being trapped with a conversationalist who’s both ill-informed and, worse, uninterestingly so," specifically referencing Lil Yachty's ranting that modern medicine is a mistake and that overpopulation is the root of the world's problems. However, The Ringer wrote that Chillin Island "feels like a perfectly pitched Cosmos-type show run through the prism of a National Geographic nature program." and Collider called it "the Perfect Hangout Show of the Season", while The New Yorker called the show "a woozy, exploratory stoner’s delight".