Casual encounters with Bigfoot? Lake monster videos while boating? Miraculous, unexplained phenomena? Is it all just a coincidence or maybe something else? The Proof is Out There!
Emmy Award-winning journalist and filmmaker Tony Harris takes a look at the supernatural while seeking scientific evidence in this new television series. More than just video clip show collected from a variety of online sources, he actually seeks in-depth explanations for what he’s seeing. Viewers can expect to explore unexpected sightings, unusual encounters and videos that truly defy explanation.
Nowadays, everybody’s got a cellphone and more than a few shaky videos are filled with unknown sounds, images and videos. Unfortunately, seeing isn’t always believing. Without offering any filler information, the footage is the story. Harris consults with forensic video analysts, physicists, field biologists, military analysts, atmospheric scientists, audio experts, researchers and journalists, taking each viral video very seriously. His rule is to keep an open mind while trying to figure out what’s happening in each one.
Unlike other shows, this team of experts attempts to decipher definitive truth from fiction. Sometimes they will rule out the laws of gravity being broken in hoaxes. Other times hyperacusis or pareidolia are to blame. And still others demand to remain natural phenomena or unsolved mysteries. I applaud the show for not forcing an unbelievable explanation upon the unusual.
Now it’s time for the inevitable comparison. The Proof is Out There is pretty much History’s answer to Travel Channel’s Paranormal Caught on Camera, which I absolutely love. It’s definitely a guilty pleasure to tune in on a lazy Sunday for some interesting background noise that always grabs my attention. Focusing on very similar subject matter, Proof seems to have better production elements than Caught, but it also features fewer incidents per episode, while giving each one an extended amount of time. Proof doesn’t feel like a low-budget show, but it also needs more interesting topics, as many of those shown have already been dissected on a variety of shows. I do appreciate how Proof doesn’t pop a camera in front of a ghost hunter and expect tales of conspiracy theories, which feels all too familiar in other shows.
Some well-known personalities from Ancient Aliens and other network shows arrive at times to provide commentary on eyewitness accounts, but speculation is generally frowned upon here. That, in itself, differentiates this one from all the rest. And during the global pandemic, non-fiction shows like this seem to be popping with regularity, as no one is ever shown on screen at the same time, while filming individual segments isn’t really a problem in the editing room.
Harris is believable and enjoyable in his pursuit of shining the light on extraordinarily real events, while throwing shade on all of the digital effects and illusions that are floating around the internet. If you enjoyed watching Destination Truth or Fact or Faked back in the day, or current shows like World’s Most Unexplained, Expedition Unknown, Believers or William Shatner’s The UnXplained, then you will probably enjoy this one as well.
Wrapping each episode by imploring viewers to “keep those cameras rolling,” Harris brings professionalism and serious credibility to the reality show genre, along with hopes to uncover something out of this world.