“I am an adrenaline junkie. I love adventure, traveling, so I was like, check, check, check,” says Big Brother 19 winner Josh Martinez of why he signed on for Destination X. In the new globetrotting reality competition, 10 players traverse Europe in a blacked-out bus. The goal: Figure out where they are each week. They disembark at not-so-famous attractions and do challenges where they win clues to their location. “It has drama, blowups, me calling people out and spiraling on a bus. 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,” promises Martinez.
NBC ran a sneak peek after the Kentucky Derby of the first 20 minutes of the series, hosted by Jeffrey Dean Morgan, most famous as Negan on The Walking Dead franchise. Martinez calls the actor, who’s doing his first hosting gig, “an absolute stud and gem of a human, very genuine, very kind.”
Along for the ride are two other reality vets, JaNa Craig (Love Island) and Peter Weber (The Bachelor, The Traitors). At the end of each episode, unlucky contestants enter the Map Room and place their X on the map to indicate where they think they are. The furthest from the actual location is sent packing. The ultimate winner leaves with $250,000.
Martinez says it was the hardest game he’s ever played. “I lived in a house for 102 days on Big Brother. I’ve lived in a bunker in Prague filming The Challenge. But I have never been isolated and stuck on the bus with nine strangers. I thought I could adapt. But as the time went on, it got harder. You’re completely isolated with blacked out windows, your mind is spiraling. You’re on the road nine, 10, 12 hours. Three days in, I lost my mind. This was the hardest. Sleeping in that little bunk at night, showering in the same shower, I felt trapped.”
Martinez did have a bus crush, newcomer to the reality show biz, Ally Bross. “The first thing I see when I take off my goggles is this beautiful blue-eyed brunette. Not only was I attracted, but I was like, this is going to be a good ally.”
Watch the video above for more from Martinez about which contestants posed the greatest threat, why he’d like to try The Traitors but not Survivor, and which of his reality show buddies would thrive on Destination X.
Destination X, Premiere, Tuesday, May 27, 10/9c, NBC
