The unceremonious nature in which Expedition X dealt with Jessica Chobot’s exit leaves us with many questions.
When I read the announcement by Discovery in late July 2024 that a new host, Heather Amaro, would be joining the eighth season of Expedition X, I did not think much of it.
Sure, they could have included that Amaro was replacing Jessica Chobot – a veritable fan favorite – but hey, it’s a press release from Discovery and the Warner Brothers Group – such releases tend to be dry and not attuned to the fandom of each show.
But then came the season premiere and I genuinely expected that at least at the Expedition X or show level, there would definitely be something of an acknowledgement of Chobot, an homage – a heartfelt reflection of her time as part of the Expedition X team.
A proper proverbial handover as it were. That, fellow Expedition X team members, Josh Gates and Phil Torres would say something, anything about Chobot. Nope. Nothing. Nada.
Just this dialogue below, which awkwardly introduced Amaro to viewers.
Josh: Alright, first things first. Heather, welcome to Expedition Headquarters, and more importantly to the Expedition X family.
Heather: Great. Thank you so much.
Phil Torres: We’re thrilled to have you.
Heather: Thanks
Josh: Are you excited?
Heather: Uh, yeah! [chuckles] Are you joking? I have been fascinated with the paranormal my entire life and I’m a third-generation investigator. So, joining y’all is like a dream come true.
Phil: You know what you getting you’re getting yourself into?
Heather: Maybe
Josh: You’ll be fine. In fact, to commemorate you joining our merry band of investigators, I have arranged something truly special for you to investigate. The Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum.
Heather: Oh, heck, yeah.
Josh: I take it you know this place?
Heather: I wouldn’t be a very good paranormal investigator if I didn’t.
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Absolutely nothing about Jessica Chobot, just straight into it. Like she was never there.
Actually, in many ways it is unsurprising that Expedition X and in particular its leader, Josh Gates, would be so ungracious to Jessica.
Chobot’s message congratulating the Expedition X team on the debut of the 8th season was quite revealing. She wrote:
“In honor of tonight’s EXX [Expedition X] premiere, wanted to give you this quick update: To start it off, I want to wish a great season to Phil Torres, Heather and the rest of the EXX crew.”
Notice the omission? An acknowledgement of everyone – the Expedition X team, and a specific mention of Phil Torres and even her replacement, Heather Amaro. But nothing about the show’s head honcho, Josh Gates.
Says something doesn’t.
And we know for sure that the ‘beef’ is not with Discovery, but probably Josh Gates, because Jess is slated for a new show with Discovery. A fact she confirmed in the same social media post on Wednesday, 14 August, 2024, writing:
“To those who are asking why I’m not on this season, I’m working on something new with Discovery. Can’t wait to share the details about this new adventure soon.”
Chobot also added a cryptic teaser of the upcoming show, explaining that it’s “the weird sh*t that I love mixed with other weird sh*t that I love. The perfect combo.”
Maybe one day in the not so faraway future we will maybe found out the true subtleties, not reasons, behind Chobot’s exit. For now, we are just uncomfortable observers of an avoidable drama playing out in front of Expedition X’s fandom.
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