Having run fan sites for Josh Gates' fan community, which includes coverage of Destination Truth for pretty much the lifetime of the show (started the fan site a year into airing), I know fans still take it hard that DT ended. I will see them beg Josh, or even costars like Erin Ryder, on social media to "bring the show back." The sad fact is that this was Syfy's decision - not the cast, who loved the show and the fans. Just to plug a moment, the Fan Guide to Destination Truth explains this and answers to other fan questions about where our beloved program went, but I digress. 

The same year we were told DT was over, we were also given the good news that Josh was coming back to TV via Expedition Unknown on Travel Channel. The show is incredibly successful and the crew is out simultaneously filming and airing Season 3, which was green lit a few weeks back. Despite the success, I still see a small number of fans on social media who either have avoided watching the show, or have watched it and state they don't enjoy it, because it's not DT. When talking to some people who had watched the show and decided it was not for them, I was dismayed that they had only watched one or two episodes from Season 1 on Netflix. Anyone who is into a TV series knows that a show, especially a reality show, gets better with time and I wanted to take the time to do a fun blog to try and invite, or re-invite, fans to take another look at Expedition Unknown.

Here are the top five reasons why I'm sure you'd love Expedition Unknown if you loved Destination Truth:

1. Still seeking the truth to odd mysteries. EXU may not have night vision cameras for paranormal investigations or have creature hunting highlighted, but the overall message of this show bears repeating re: DT, when you think about it. Many of the cases involve helping archaeologists, historians and other people of interest find items that have vanished. One episode even focuses on groups of people searching for a treasure that a millionaire hid somewhere in the wilds of America - that is super exciting! 
2. The paranormal hasn't left the picture completely. While we aren't looking for EVPs or trying to find biological traces of a creature, there is still a "camp fire" element to EXU. Finding out if these astonishing things that supposedly existed could have, or if they did, explaining how it could be, is par for the course. On a related note, I was able to get an exclusive answer for Josh fans that there is always a future possibility Josh could be on Ghost Adventures, which would be awesome, given his experience in the field! If this is more of what you're wanting, I really recommend watching the "Hunting Vampires" episode of Season 2, "Exploring Japan's Atlantis" in Season 2, the "Viking Sunstone" episode in Season 1, and the "Secrets of the Nazca" episode from Season 1. 
3. The humor and travel aspects are definitely still there, and then some. While Josh loved doing DT, it is clear that this is more of what he was hoping to do as a travel host. He has said, time and time again, that he really wants to encourage people to travel, in doing what he does. The joy is clear when Josh is getting to discover more of the local culture and showing people more of where he was traveling, versus fitting the travel portion into a compact piece of the episode. Because this is more fluid for Josh, the humor and benefits of travel comes across two-fold, compared to DT. It is also worth mentioning that since two years passed between the last episode of DT to the first season of EXU, new tech, like drones, are able to get us beautiful, more expansive shots for this show. 
4. At last, we have bonus footage specials! I remember when fans would complain that they would have loved more funny DT bonus clips on the Syfy website, or even a special of unseen funny footage from the show. With EXU, we have many of these. They are also themed, so if you want advice on travel, or want to see the most intense moments of the show, or if you want to see bonus footage meshes with Josh messing with tourists by asking them trivia about where they traveled to, you can pick what flavor suits you! These specials, by the way, all involve unseen footage, even if it's an "extended" scene that already aired. 
5. The show is evolving to fan feedback, and yes, more DT alumni are coming! One of the biggest pieces of fan feedback from Season 1 was that we wanted to see more interaction with the crew that helps film the show. This was one of the favorite elements to DT, and with Season 2, we saw more of this interaction we craved. More importantly, we have seen on camera and in interviews for the bonus episodes, that DT alumni Evan B. Stone has been a crucial part of this show, so far. Also, Josh tweeted recently (twice, even) that Mike from DT has also been involved with the filming of Season 3 for EXU. With any luck, more DT alumni will get on board and have more camera time! Ryder has said on Twitter multiple times she definitely wants to! 

During this interview (link leads to a video with audio from a past podcast) with Nick Groff, formerly of Ghost Adventures and now part of Paranormal Lockdown, he said of Destination Truth -  "I watched a couple of his shows (episodes). It’s cool. You know which one I actually dug a lot? It was when he went to Russia, and he went to…the nuclear power plant (Chernobyl) that exploded and it wiped out the whole town and everything. The only reason I saw that is because I was researching that location a year prior to them going there with my cousin Justin. We were looking at that (location) because I really wanted to take Ghost Adventures there, and I was like ‘aw, we’ll never be able to get this - it’s so hard and complicated.’ Then, I see Josh go there, and I was so fascinated."