History’s hit drama series “project Blue Book,” which is inspired by the true events surrounding U.S. military scientific adviser and UFO legend Dr. J. Allen Hynek, returns with its second season at 10 p.m. (ET) on Jan. 21 with some interesting subject matter.
The second season of the historical fiction show will feature Hynek looking into the paranormal hotbed of Skinwalker Ranch, the Kentucky Kelly-Hopkinsville alien encounter, the CIA’s mind control experiments, and will even touch upon Hynek’s role as expert consultant to the film “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.”
Filmmaker Greg Newkirk is no stranger to the Kentucky case as his popular “Hellier” documentary series, which will return with a second season this month, investigated these “Goblin” like reports. Newkirk is cautiously excited to see how History tackles the Sutton family sighting.
“There are a lot of really interesting, subtle things about the 1955 case that are hugely important, I believe, to the understanding of UFO phenomena as a whole,” Newkirk said. “I like the fact that the Suttons were very marginalized people, so despite numerous witness reports all pointing toward the same thing, no one took them very seriously. If handled right, showing that catch-22 can deliver a lot of hints to viewers about the greater nature of strange phenomena, but honestly, I just hope it gets more people to dig into the story of the Kentucky Goblins, which is a fascinating case that’s far too easily shrugged off because of the name.”
The addition of Skinwalker Ranch to the second season comes off the heels of renewed interest in the area from Jeremy Corbell’s “Hunt The Skinwalker” film, and Erica Lukes recent research that deviates away from the “threat” narrative previously associated with the ranch.
“It will be interesting to see how they weave the Skinwalker Ranch story into the second season,”Lukes said. “ I'm hopeful that they will focus on the Uintah Basin, and highlight the many strange occurrences that have been documented over the past 50 years.”
History drew 3.2 million viewers for the first season of “Project Blue Book.”(Handout)
The news release makes sure to mention multiple times the show is “inspired by” real events, which allows plenty of creative freedom for the producers, and may irk UFO history purists.
“Our drama series delves into infamous cases like Roswell and Area 51 and offers a retrospective look at the rich history behind UFO phenomena,” said Eli Lehrer, Executive Vice President and General Manager for History Channel in a news release. “Through this season’s entertaining and compelling storytelling, viewers will become immersed in these strange occurrences that are inspired by real events.”
-By MIKE DAMANTE