Down to Earth may represent Zac Efron's next career stage as a reality TV performer

The Ringer

Efron's Netflix travel docuseries is "a potential window into what might be the next stage of Efron’s career," says Miles Surrey. "No longer a teen sensation from High School Musical, a yoked scene stealer in R-rated comedies (Neighbors and its sequel rule), or an eerily convincing serial killer (he does look like Ted Bundy), Efron appears to be making a hard pivot into reality programming. If there’s anything that might convince people to check out Quibi, what about Killing Zac Efron, a show that caused Efron to be hospitalized with a serious bacterial infection while living on a remote island for three weeks? (The show hasn’t come out yet on Quibi, but I sure as hell set up a Google Alert.) Through Killing Zac Efron and Down to Earth, our guy is in territory somewhere between that of the late Anthony Bourdain and piss-drinking legend Bear Grylls, with some Conscientious Frat Bro sensibilities sprinkled in. At times, Down to Earth can be quite thoughtless. One episode criticizes tap water for being loaded with chemicals and emphasizes the importance of mineral-rich water because of its supposed health benefits, but doesn’t account for the hundreds of millions of people for whom clean water isn’t readily available. And when Efron and (wellness guru Darin) Olien aren’t trawling through the Amazon or a Costa Rican eco-village, they seem to find every country’s Hilton. Suffice it to say, the Hilton’s prominent placement on a series called Down to Earth is pretty ironic. But even when Down to Earth stumbles, it’s clear that the show is coming from a good place." ALSO: Roughly 87% of what Zac Efron says on Down to Earth is some variation of “wow,” “sick,” “whoa,” or “cool.”