Jeffrey Dean Morgan's Destination X Is Still Waiting On Renewal, But Another NBC Competition Show Is Definitely Coming Back With A Big Change

Summer is a competitive time of year on NBC when it comes to the primetime lineup, and the 2025 TV schedule is no exception. In addition to America’s Got Talent hitting its milestone 20th season, The Walking Dead: Dead City’s Jeffrey Dean Morgan took a break from the zombie apocalypse to host Destination X, a new travel series pitting competitors against each other in pursuit of a cash grand prize. The first season of that show ended without confirmation of a second, but NBC has confirmed that another show will be back with some changes.

What About Destination X Season 2?

Spoilers ahead for Destination X Season 1. While I was lukewarm on Destination X in the early days despite being bamboozled by the premiere, I was on board by the end when the reality star I was rooting against did indeed lose. (Sorry, Peter Weber.) The finale aired before NBC revealed whether or not Season 2 is going to happen, but executive producer Andy Cadman was optimistic when speaking to Variety about Rick Szabo’s Season 1 victory. Cadman said:

While that’s certainly not a guarantee that Destination X will be back in NBC’s summer lineup next year, I’m taking it as a good sign. It also seemingly confirms that the show would be sticking with Europe, since there are some major locations that haven’t been visited yet. (You can find every episode so far streaming with a Peacock subscription.)

I’m rooting for Verona, Italy, although that might just be because of how convinced I was that Verona was the location for the series premiere! (It was actually Rome, Italy.) So, for now, it’s just a matter of waiting for news of if and when Destination X will be back. The show that will officially be back, as of NBC’s recent announcement? American Ninja Warrior.

American Ninja Warrior Renewed With A New Twist

American Ninja Warrior has also become a summer staple on NBC, with the Season 17 finals currently airing on Monday nights. The network isn’t leaving any fans hanging as the finale approaching, however, with the announcement of a Season 18 renewal before Season 17 wraps. The renewal came with the news that Matt Iseman and Akbar Gbajabiamila are returning as hosts and Zuri Hall is coming back as sideline reporter.

There’s also a new twist on the way, and while it’s not as much of a game-changer as when the American Ninja Warrior age limit was dropped to 15, it will certainly set Season 18 apart from years past. In addition to all rounds filming in Las Vegas and production for the next season starting this fall, a new round is being introduced.

This new round of competition involves a supersized three-lane racecourse that will require competitors to face off instead of just having their times compared. They’ll go head-to-head-to-head for side-by-side races, with casting currently underway for the next batch of ninjas in the running for the grand prize of $250,000.

It’s probably a safe bet that NBC will keep American Ninja Warrior as part of the summer lineup, with Season 17 amassing more than 23 million viewers so far across Peacock and NBC, and ranks as a Top 5 entertainment show with linear total viewers.

There’s no reason to doubt the return of America’s Got Talent next summer, so the big question at this point is whether NBC’s summer competition lineup will include a second round of Destination X.