Since this will be airing on St. Patrick's Day, it's only natural that host Josh Gates travel to Ireland for his season premiere to search for the legendary banshee of Duckett's Grove Castle. Gates returns to Ireland only a year after he investigated leprechauns in Doolin. The episode was also the show's most-watched episode, which may explain why Gates is going live there.
According to Syfy, in addition to being one of the more colorful X-Men, the "banshee is a sign of impending death; a female ancestral spirit who wails around a house the night before someone inside is to meet their demise." And apparently, the residents of County Carlow say they've witnessed hearing the wail of the banshee and have seen a ghostly woman walk the grounds of the 200 year-old castle.
So far the network hasn't released the times for the DT investigation, but it's safe to assume it will be a significant programming block not unlike the six-hour Ghost Hunters Live Halloween show. Although it's intriguing to think how DT will film a live investigation in a time zone five hours ahead of the U.S. east coast (If the event runs until 1 a.m., ET, and the sun rises around 6:30 a.m. in Ireland during March, maybe we'll see a dawn investigation)
Anyhow, this is a big win for Gates, and it demonstrates how much faith the network has in his show. Yet a big difference between GH and DT is that Gates is always the host and emcee of the Halloween show, and he does a great job moving it along for six hours. However, it is impossible to expect he'd both host and investigate. Plus, he's going to need a bigger team to cover the entire grounds of a castle all at once.
So who will host, and who is going to guest star? Even though Gates makes it look easy, hosting is a tough gig and requires planning but a lot of on-the-fly work. Additionally, while Gates' team is likable, none of them have the same name recognition as Steve and Tango, so some other recognizable folks will have to guest star to compensate.
Time for wild speculation ...
Guests will likely include some Ghost Hunters, and my money is on Irish lad Barry Fitzgerald from Ghost Hunters International (which will be in the midst of its new season that premieres Jan. 5). Either his GHI team leader Kris Williams or Irish redhead Amy Bruni (or both) will have to make an appearance. And Jael De Pardo, a former DT team member now on Fact or Faked seems like a natural.
Based on other Syfy productions airing in March - and the net's track record of using crossover programming to promote new shows - I also wouldn't be shocked if they enlist McKenzie Westmore (pictured right), host of the movie-makeup reality show Face Off, or a castmate from Being Human (Meaghan Rath, who plays the ghost roommate on the show, helped out with the GHers on Halloween, so I'd guess they'd go with actor Sam Huntington).
Then again, I could be completely wrong here. I am creating a fantasy-football-esque lineup for the live Destination Truth investigation. Syfy has impressed me enough in the past with the live events, so I'll likely tune in with a green beer no matter what.