If even international giants in TV land like the BBC and NBC did not have to think long to buy VTM's Bestemming X, that says something about the quality and appeal of this format, made by Flemish production house Geronimo.
Original, adventurous, exciting. Three ingredients that kept an average of 720,000 viewers glued to the tube per episode for nine weeks. Ten contestants traversed Europe in a black bus with blinded windows. They could not look outside, nor could passers-by cast curious glances inside. Hints had to help them figure out where somewhere the bus was. Whoever was furthest away at the end of the episode had to leave the bus.
The vehicle had been completely converted into a mobile studio. Besides the ten beds for the candidates, on board were: a control room for four technicians, separate controls for audio, 30 cameras, 18 microphones, 5 km of cables, and to provide maximum comfort for the occupants, hydraulic suspension had been considered. All staff had absolute confidentiality obligations. Including the bus driver, who was also not allowed to have any contact with the participants to avoid the risk of inadvertently revealing anything about the location.
A total of five countries have already bought Bestemming X. Flemish productions rarely conquer foreign countries, but at the same time this prestige project shows that Flanders does have creative TV talent of stature.
