When news broke that Jeffrey Dean Morgan would host Destination X I felt a mix of excitement and curiosity. After all he is best known for playing the terrifying Negan in AMC's The Walking Dead. Stepping into reality TV hosting seemed like a big change. Now after seeing a couple of episodes I am not so sure he was the right choice. On each episode of Destination X competitors must use clues to figure out their secret locations across Europe. Each week contestants are picked by their peers to guess their destination in the Map Room. The person whose guess is furthest from the real location is eliminated. This means the show is a complicated social game along with the guessing game.
Jeffrey has shown himself to be a capable host in the first two episodes. However I still do not think he was the best person for the job. He is an actor new to reality TV hosting. He is most famous for playing Negan and his spin-off The Walking Dead: Dead City. I think his tough-guy image just does not match the show's overall feel.
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As a fan of trivia shows like Jeopardy! I was really interested in Destination X. Most reality competitions do not need much knowledge of geography history or culture. I thought this show would be different. It would be impossible for contestants to guess locations if they knew nothing about Europe. I looked forward to a reality show that was smarter and would make me think. I thought it would be a rare find in the world of reality competition series.
While Destination X did deliver on some of that promise Jeffrey seemed out of place. His tough-guy image seemed too much as he challenged contestants in the games. He reminded me of The Challenge host TJ Lavin. But his strong attitude did not fit competitions where contestants had to solve clues about Italy from coins or identify Switzerland by bell sounds. The competitions on The Challenge are wild and physically demanding. So TJ's attitude makes sense there. I thought Jeffrey looked almost silly when he rode in on a motorcycle during the show's first challenge. He would probably be a better fit for a show like The Challenge. That would let him be tough on contestants in games that push them hard. I would prefer if Destination X was more about learning.
On an NBC Instagram post Jeffrey played up his bad boy image even more. He rode a motorcycle and gave middle fingers. In one clip he asks contestants "Are you happy to see me?" In another he says "The more trouble I can cause the happier I get." Then Jeffrey is heard saying "Who can you trust? Well, not me. That's for sure." I am not sure who this is supposed to attract. But I would rather have a Destination X host I could trust. A host who would bring the show to a higher level.
Jeffrey Dean Morgan hosts Destination X, a new reality show with a twist, and he reveals his frustration with contestants playing too nice while traveling blind across Europe.
The Host's Focus On Social Manipulation Instead Of Knowledge Is A Bit Distracting
Why The Show's Emphasis On Backstabbing Feels Too Much Like Other Reality TV
I hoped Destination X would be more about smarts than street smarts. But Jeffrey's focus on social manipulation made the show feel like any other reality competition. Like Big Brother or Survivor Destination X has a complicated network of alliances and betrayal beneath its surface. I wish the focus was more on solving clues themselves. I would rather not see contestants having to turn on each other.
Jeffrey seems very focused on this part of the game. I was disappointed in episode 2 when contestant Jonah Evarts was upset. He had to pick someone to possibly go into the Map Room to save himself. I agreed with Jeffrey when he told Jonah he was playing for $250,000. But I did not like it when he said "We gotta toughen that kid up" after Jonah left the room. Jeffrey's comment bothered me. Jonah is a kind person. If the game was truly only about answering where contestants were located as Jeffrey has said it is then Jonah would not have to be someone he is not to do that. I want more focus on the clues and the difficulty of being on a blacked-out bus. I want less focus on the social game. I do not like how Jeffrey promotes and values the cutthroat part of the game so much.
Contestant Ally Bross might have an advantage when it comes to the travel competition. She works as a full-time travel influencer. Like Jonah I wish Destination X was more about working together. I wish it did not have players having to nominate others for elimination. Players should be working together to find locations. They should not worry that sharing or hiding clues will get them eliminated. Jeffrey is putting too much weight on the social part of the game. So the knowledge-based part of it is getting lost.
NBC's new series Destination X keeps viewers on the edge of their seats as contestants try to guess their location while traveling in Europe.
Who Else Might Have Been A Better Fit As The Host Of Destination X?
Considering Other Celebrities Who Could Have Brought A Different Tone To The Competition
Jeffrey is doing a good job as host if Destination X is supposed to be a show about being socially smart. But I think other people would have been better for the role if the series focused more on knowledge. I would like to see Mayim Bialik or LeVar Burton host. Both were considered for permanent Jeopardy! hosts. I also think Jeopardy! host Ken Jennings would do a great job. He truly loves trivia arts and culture.
I also think Big Brother host Julie Chen Moonves would be a good fit. She enjoys seeing houseguests make big moves in that game. But she does not encourage them to be disloyal. She ends every episode reminding viewers to love one another. I know the social part of Destination X makes it interesting. But there is something about Jeffrey's strong persona that bothers me. I do not think it fits the show’s idea. Jeffrey himself had some doubts about hosting. He told People he thought the network "had the wrong person." He lives on a farm, kills zombies on TV, and is a dad. He did not picture himself as a typical host like Ryan Seacrest.
It was Jeffrey's wife actress Hilarie Burton Morgan who convinced him to take the job. She hosted MTV’s Total Request Live years ago. She wisely told him "You're not getting any younger." Jeffrey also watched a couple of episodes of The Traitors. Its host Alan Cumming worked with Jeffrey on The Good Wife. Alan is amazing and a showman. Jeffrey said he is not like that. He did have fun filming around Europe for over a month though. He knew it was best to be himself and not copy the original Belgian host. That host was very slick and James Bond-like. NBC producers wanted an "edgy" person that "maybe people want to have a beer with." Jeffrey said he had "so much fun being the ringmaster of the circus."
Jeffrey is one of the executive producers of Destination X. He could make changes if he wanted to. I feel like Destination X does not quite know what it wants to be yet. But I hope it chooses the high road and reduces the social manipulation needed to play. That would mean Jeffrey needs to tone down his tough-guy image. He should let the amazing locations be the main attraction instead. Right now, Jeffrey is certainly leaving his mark on the map figuratively and literally. New episodes air Tuesdays at 10 PM EDT on NBC and stream the next day on Peacock.