After bidding farewell to audiences almost three years ago with the first incarnation of their acclaimed paranormal investigative series Ghost Hunters, original cast members, Jason Hawes, Steve Gonsalves and Dave Tango, are diving back into the world of unexplained phenomena with their new show, Ghost Nation, premiering tonight on the Travel Channel.
Paranormal pioneers, Hawes, Gonsalves and Tango are back in action, responding to urgent calls from local paranormal investigators across the country who have met a dead end in trying to find answers with disturbing cases from their clients. In an interview with PopCulture.com’s sister site, ComicBook.com, Hawes admits returning to the field with his long-time friends, Gonsalves and Tango is all about getting back to their roots with the paranormal field and “really helping people who need help.”
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“Fans are going to be able to see us get back to our roots of why TAPS was originally created and what we did — getting in there and truly trying to figure out what’s happening for these homeowners, to empower them, and just give them their strength in their homes back,” Hawes told ComicBook.com, adding how the show also differs greatly from Ghost Hunters in that they show how they acquire a case, meet with clients and dive into the historical research.
With the three examining what’s accurate and inaccurate, Hawes goes on to add that their assistance in paranormal matters “really helps to empower” those seeking resolutions.
Gonsalves told ComicBook.com what makes the show so different from others in its genre is the “tremendous amount of research” conducted.
“I know in the cuts, it isn’t showcased, at least not as in-depth that as we did it, [but] we really got to the bottom of things,” Gonsalves said. “If someone has heard for 50 years that somebody died in their front yard and we really found that out and told them the truth, like, ‘No, this person actually died 700 miles away in a hospital, you’re completely wrong.”
Tango adds that with “so much misinformation” regarding legends and stories, it’s important to get it right. “That’s one of my favorite parts — is just trying to educate these people. We’re not sticking it in their face, we’re just like, ‘Hey, this is what it really is, don’t believe everything that you hear,” he said.
Armed with brand new, ultramodern technology and a precise methodology, the team under its new banner United Paranormal Research Organization (UPRO), will face some of the most challenging and dangerous paranormal mysteries the country has to offer. Picked up for 10, one hour-long episodes this season, some of the high-stake stories featured this season include per a Discovery release outlines “a couple who recently gained notoriety when their nanny-cam footage captured a ghostly shadow figure walking by their baby’s crib; a local team that captured possible shadow people moving throughout a notorious haunt; and an investigator who is actually scratched by an unseen phantom.”
With the aid of local contacts and investigators, the team will insert themselves in the community to conduct a multitude of inquiries over a span of days as a way to track down the confirmed source of hauntings and restore peace to both the living and dead.
Ghost Nation premieres Friday, Oct. 11 during the Travel Channel’s highly anticipated “Ghostober,” a collection of month-long programming packed with 31 days of the network’s most wicked and blood-curdling shows. In the first episode, “The Boys Are Back,” an amateur paranormal investigator calls on Hawes, Gonsalves and Tango to help her with a difficult case in White Pine, Tennessee. The team uncovers the haunted house has a dark past, including a murder on the property with possible ties to Klan activities.
Ghost Nation airs Fridays at 10 p.m. ET on the Travel Channel.
Photo credit: Travel Channel / Discovery
