‘Destination X’ Host Jeffrey Dean Morgan Talks Brutal Game & Inspiring Reality-Vet Players

In the May 27 premiere of NBC‘s globe-trotting reality competition Destination X, grizzled, grinning host Jeffrey Dean Morgan, most famous for playing villain turned antihero Negan in the Walking Dead franchise, growls to the 10 players assembled on an airport runway, “All you have to do to win is answer one simple question: Where the hell am I?”

In the age of GPS, it seems as though the answer should take a split second — even faster when posed by the guy known for obliterating zombies and humans with a barbed-wire-wrapped baseball bat. But it won’t be easy for this eclectic group, ranging from a cheery sales consultant named Rachel, whose beribboned pageant-girl beehive belies her history-major smarts, to professional bird watcher Rick, who’s fine with being considered the group “dad” but calls himself “cunning.” Stripped of personal digital devices, they crisscross
Europe in a bus with blacked-out windows where they sleep, eat, and (shudder) share a single bathroom.

In each of the 10 installments, the coach rolls into a postcard-worthy spot (snowy peaks! medieval streets!), eliciting reactions like, “This is so sick!” from Jonah, a Kansas English teacher and Timothée Chalamet look-alike. The players disembark to compete in challenges that reveal clues to their location. In one, winners get a helicopter tour for a better look at the landscape. At the end of each episode, some are selected to enter the dreaded Map Room, where they have two minutes to calculate where they are and secretly place an X on it. The one whose X misses the mark by the most miles gets sent packing by Morgan; the last one standing will win a sweet quarter-million bucks.

“The mix of people on that bus, the personalities — I had strong feelings toward all of ’em. Some I wanted to punch, some I adored,” laughs Morgan, who’s new to the hosting world. Asked if his Negan persona played a part in his casting, he says, “I think what appealed to NBC was I could put people on their heels, but also I’m a guy you want to have a beer with.”

He’s not the only one with two sides. In whispered conversations, players size each other up, share intel, and decide whom to trust. “You can’t win this game alone. If you don’t win the challenges, you need allies to give you clues,” says Josh Martinez, winner of Big Brother Season 19 and one of the series’ three reality vets. The other two, social media star/entrepreneur JaNa Craig (Love Island), and pilot Peter Weber (The Bachelor, The Traitors), join later in the game.

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Martinez says Destination X is the hardest show he’s done. “I lived in a house for 102 days on Big Brother, in a bunker in Prague filming The Challenge. I thought I could adapt. But it got harder. You’re on the road 12 hours [at a time] with nine strangers. It has drama, blowups, me calling people out and spiraling. It has romance and hookups and so much gameplay from the jump. It’s completely different from what you’ve seen. It’s chaotic, but so good.”

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The first bus stop involving the entire group is in an ancient hill town. To keep the players from getting inadvertent clues, they wear blackout goggles until put into position to start the challenge. They are randomly divided into two teams led by an early female alliance, flirty Florida travel influencer Ally and Texas attorney Mack, whose blunt strategy is, “Form an alliance with the dumbest person here, get them to trust me, and sacrifice them after.”

Part of the challenge tasks pairs of players with sorting through a pile of gold coins to find one with an image picturing the answer to a riddle such as “As I get older, I get richer and bolder.” Discarded coins still hold hints to the location. But in the heat of play, not everyone pays close attention. Clues hiding in plain sight are also a fun reason for home viewers to scream at the TV.

Some contestants tap into being well-traveled, like flight attendant and lawyer Tai, who has circled the globe on adrenaline-fueled adventures. Biggy, a sports bettor from Chattanooga who hasn’t traveled outside the U.S. much, weaponizes the presumption that he’s unsophisticated, drawling, “They may think I’m an idiot. I’m not.”

And of course, with no scenery to look at, the inside of the bus better be dramatic. Ally and Shayne, a model from Indiana, deliver with a sizzling show-mance. We’re also expecting big things from Kim, a grandma who works in child protective services in Hawaii and says, “I go to Coachella. I travel alone. My kids don’t know half of the stuff [I do.]”

“You’re stuck with these folks and it’s amazing the relationships that happen and how that affects the gameplay — more as the episodes go on,” Morgan reveals. “I teared up watching an episode today because of these relationships that are formed and the brutality of what the game really is and what you’re trying to win. The roller-coaster ride we put these people through is extraordinary.” All aboard!

Destination X, Series Premiere, Tuesday, May 27, 10/9c, NBC, Stream Next Day on Peacock