Adventure travel series Destination X has been officially picked up to series by NBC.
The show is expected to air on the network in 2025 and the U.S. version of the Belgian format will be produced by production company Twofour, which is also making a separate British version for the BBC.
The greenlight marks the latest stage for the format; last year, the BBC and NBCUniversal partnered to take the U.S and UK rights to the show, which comes from Belgian producer Geronimo and distributor Be-Entertainment.
The BBC greenlit its own version last year with Twofour producing.
NBC has now followed suit and officially ordered its own version; the show was previously only in development with the broadcast network.
It is a similar model employed on breakout mystery format The Traitors.
Destination X sees a group of contestants go on a the road trip of a lifetime but they have no idea of their location. In order to win, they must figure out their mystery locations. Once they’re on the blacked-out Destination X bus, the journey turns into a real-life game board, with challenges designed to offer clues as to their location, along with a few misdirects to keep them guessing.
At the end of each episode, the contestant who places an X on a map furthest from the actual location packs their bags. The first participant to reach Destination X will be crowned the winner.
Twofour, which is owned by British broadcaster ITV, is behind series such as Apple TV+’s The Reluctant Traveller. It will co-produce the NBC version with Universal Television Alternative Studio. Production will begin later this year.
Caroline Davies, Andy Cadman, Dan Adamson and David Clews will exec produce the NBC version.
“Destination X is one of the most unique and innovative formats we’ve seen in a long time, and it’s so big we partnered with the BBC again to shoot two shows at once,” said Corie Henson, EVP, Unscripted Programming, NBCUniversal Television and Streaming. “This show is an epic international travel adventure combined with the ultimate guessing game. Even if you’ve never been on a plane, you can play along.”
“The only thing better than adapting a hit format like Destination X is doing it alongside the very best producing partners, and that’s exactly what we have in Twofour,” said Toby Gorman, President, Universal Television Alternative Studio. “We’re thrilled to bring NBC their first travel competition series and can’t wait for audiences to tune in for this adventure. It’s going to be a fun ride.”
“The entire Twofour team couldn’t be more proud to have won the tender to produce this incredible adventure format, particularly given the pedigree of the other companies in the process,” said Dan Adamson, Twofour MD. “Our editorial ambition for this project is fortunately matched by our best-in-class production team, who constantly make the impossible possible. We are excited to be on this journey with our talented producing partners at UTAS and grateful to the brilliant commissioning teams at both NBCU and the BBC for the hard work and creativity they have already put into the process.”