People who follow the Travel Channel might be familiar with Expedition Unknown. In short, it is a show presented by the explorer Josh Gates, who uses it as a vehicle to look into legends as well as other mysteries. So far, Expedition Unknown has had five seasons, which should make it clear that it has managed to secure an audience for itself.
What Makes Expedition Unknown Worth Watching?
Speaking bluntly, Expedition Unknown has been known to be pretty fake. Some of its topics are true mysteries, whereas others are based on nothing more than sensationalistic nonsense. For example, the final fate of Amelia Earhart and her navigator Fred Noonan remains a subject of considerable interest in the present time, as shown by how various theories still come up in the news from time to time. Likewise, there is plenty of historical value in seeking to understand more about Hatshepsut, Nefertiti, and Cleopatra, each of whom had a enormous impact on ancient Egypt. In contrast, the search for a “real” Robin Hood is ridiculous because none of the proposed candidates have ever managed to build up much momentum behind them, while the search for the True Cross was doomed to failure because the supposed pieces are so numerous that people have been making snide comments such as Christ having been crucified on a forest for centuries and centuries. On top of this, it should be noted that Expedition Unknown makes blatant use of the staging that is so common in so-called unscripted series, presumably because it is too convenient for the people behind it not to.
With that said, none of this really matters. There are bound to be people who watch Expedition Unknown because they believe whatever is shown to them on the screen. However, chances are good that most people are watching for a couple of other reasons instead. First, Expedition Unknown‘s choice of topics might be sensationalistic, but it isn’t exactly secret knowledge that there are a lot of people out there who find sensationalism to be both fun and entertaining. Second, Josh Gates is a pretty entertaining figure in his own right, meaning that he can be considered one of the show’s selling points. Combined, these two factors are more than enough to enable Expedition Unknown to secure considerable viewer interest.
Why Can Expedition Unknown Last Another 20 Years?
As such, it seems reasonable to say that Expedition Unknown has the potential to continue running for a long, long time to come. After all, people love legends and other kinds of mysteries. Sometimes, this is because they are fascinated by the idea of lost treasures that are just waiting out there to be found by those who are lucky enough to stumble upon them. Other times, this is because people are enamored by the idea of having access to secret knowledge that other people do not, whether that secret knowledge is actually worth anything or not. Whatever the case, it is clear that people will remain interested in the kind of topics that come up on Expedition Unknown for the foreseeable future, even if the exact nature of that interest can see significant variation from year to year.
Moving on, it should be mentioned that there are plenty of so-called mysteries that can be covered by future seasons of the show as well. For instance, it seems just about every pirate that ever existed has some kind of buried treasure story associated with them even though there has been exactly one verified case of a pirate ever resorting to said practice. Similarly, there are dozens and dozens of significant items that have gone missing over the centuries, with examples ranging from the Heirloom Seal of the Realm that was once used by the Chinese Emperors to the fossilized remains of Peking Man that vanished while they were supposed to be sent to the United States for safekeeping. On top of this, there are dozens and dozens of stories about lost cities as well as lost civilizations, which range from the surprisingly plausible to the wholly unbelievable. Based on this as well as other possibilities, it seems clear that there is enoguh potential material to keep Expedition Unknown going for years and years to come.
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