On the heels of his role in this summer’s blockbuster Top Gun: Maverick, Smithsonian Channel(TM) announced today that actor Jay Ellis (Insecure) will host the second season of their breakout hit series, How Did They Build That?
Season two will continue to cover architectural wonders from all over the world but will have an emphasis on American stories and deconstruct some of the United States’ most amazing structures, including Hearst Tower (NYC), Little Island (NYC), National Museum of African American History and Culture (Washington, DC), Denver Art Museum (Denver, CO), Evergreen Point 520 Floating Bridge and (Seattle, WA). International stories include La Tete Carree (France) the Guggenheim (Spain) and The Gherkin (England), along with many others.
In this epic new season, host Jay Ellis takes viewers around the globe to meet the architects who designed and built these captivating buildings. Through insightful interviews from “star-chitects” Lord Norman Foster, David Adjaye, Daniel Libeskind, Patrik Schumacher, and Santiago Calatrava along with series experts Nehemiah Mabry, Ellie Cosgrave, Corina Kwami and Hayley Loren, viewers will not only learn the exceptional modern engineering secrets that made these modern wonders possible but will also have a first-hand look inside the beautiful and astounding feats of engineering on a scale and complexity never seen before.
“I’m excited to host How Did They Build That? season two and bring the work of some of the world’s most innovative architects and engineers to the forefront,” said Jay Ellis. “The series is captivating and eye-opening. Being able to hear first-hand accounts from the genius minds of these architects, and how they came up with and executed these remarkable designs is truly amazing and inspiring.”
How Did They Build That? season two premieres on Sunday, July 10 @ 8/7c on the Smithsonian Channel(TM) in the United States and Monday, July 11 @ 8/7c in the United Kingdom. Charlie Bunce for Curve Media and Dan Wolf for Smithsonian Channel serve as Executive Producers, respectively.
Follow Smithsonian Channel on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook to see an exclusive behind-the-scenes interview with Jay Ellis and catch sneak peek’s of How Did They Build That?
![]() |
How Did They Build That? |
Network: Smithsonian ChannelGenre: DocumentarySeasons: 3Episodes: 28 | |
OverviewAn exploration of how some of the world's biggest man-made structures were built. |