Television series

Destination Truth

Name: Destination Truth
Genre: Adventure, Mystery, Supernatural
Released: 2007
Cast: Josh Gates, Gabriel Copeland, Mike Morrell, Erin Ryder, Rex Williams

Destination Truth sends Josh Gates and a scrappy crew around the world chasing cryptids, hauntings, and unexplained phenomena. It's part travelogue, part investigation, wholly earnest—no sneering at believers, no cheap scares. Gates is genuinely curious rather than cynical, and the show respects both the mystery and the cultures involved. Perfect for armchair adventurers who like their mysteries with a side of anthropology.

TVMaze rating

3.9

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you enjoy a reality-style expedition where the fun is in the wandering, the local legends and the crew's nervous banter as much as in whether anything shows up on camera.

Skip it if you want hard evidence or a satisfying answer by the end of each hour, since the show mostly leaves its mysteries open and the night-vision scares can feel repetitive.

What it asks of you: Each episode runs about an hour and moves at the pace of a travel series, with long stretches of driving, interviews and waiting in the dark before anything happens.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

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Two investigators probe strange cases with chemistry, skepticism, and genuine belief in something larger. It invented the template for this kind of drama, and Mulder's wonder mirrors Gates's curiosity perfectly.

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In Search of.....1977

Leonard Nimoy hosted this unironic exploration of UFOs, Bigfoot, and the paranormal. It treats mysteries with gravity rather than ridicule, and captures that same sense that the world is stranger than we admit.

But Shot on a shoestring in the 70s, so production values are creaky. Pacing is slow by modern standards.

Expedition Unknown2015

Josh Gates himself hosts this globe-trotting investigation series—smarter, slicker, and with a crew that actually solves things. If you loved Destination Truth, this is what he learned to do better.

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Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Destination Truth

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

The Lost City of Z2017

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The Twilight Zone1959

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But Black and white, 25 minutes long, and the pacing is deliberate. Not for people who need constant forward momentum.

Ancient Aliens2009

If you like the idea of unexplained phenomena tied to real locations and cultures, this explores archaeological mysteries with genuine reverence. Hours of rabbit-hole material, presented seriously.

But The evidence is often thin and the theories are wild. Credibility takes a back seat to spectacle, and it stretches plausibility hard.

The Night Stalker1972

A dogged reporter investigates the supernatural in every episode—monsters, hauntings, things that shouldn't exist. It's scrappy, funny, and absolutely confident in its own strangeness.

But Only 20 episodes exist, and some are corny by design. The special effects are deliberately cheap-looking, which doesn't work every time.

Unsolved Mysteries2020

Robert Stack narrates real mysteries—disappearances, hauntings, strange occurrences—with zero irony. Each segment is a mini-investigation that respects the strangeness. Addictive and genuinely spooky.

But Some cases are weak, and the show is building urban legends as much as solving them. Certain episodes lean melodramatic.

Dark Waters2019

A lawyer investigates an environmental mystery that connects to a massive corporation. It's meticulous, gripping, and proves that dogged investigation—the same instinct Gates uses—can uncover real truths.

But It's a procedural thriller about corporate malfeasance, not supernatural mystery. Slow, dialogue-heavy, almost deliberately unsexy.

The Midnight Gospel2020

Both use travel and strangeness as a vessel for asking what we believe, why we believe it, and what responsibility that carries.

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But It's animated psychedelia with long philosophical monologues. Visual chaos paired with existential heaviness—not a gateway drug to animated series.

Grizzly Man2005

Both examine people driven to cross into unknown territory to understand something others dismiss—and both ask whether that drive is noble or delusional.

Werner Herzog documents a man who lived among grizzly bears, obsessed with understanding and connecting with them. It's a meditation on belief, wilderness, and the cost of seeking communion with something untamed.

But It ends with real tragedy and disturbing audio. Herzog's narration is deadpan; the film respects neither the subject nor the viewer's comfort.