In the post-Trump universe, the TV tag line: “Rob Lowe investigates the paranormal” doesn’t seem so odd.
New series The Lowe Files is a father and son effort for A&E. Lowe and sons John Owen and Matthew are hitting the road to ferret out the truths of America’s most paranormally active sites and urban legends.
Talking on panel at the Television Critics Association (TCA) summer press tour and trying to explain, describe and defend his premise, Rob summarized the show saying: “It’s Anthony Bourdain in a blender with Scooby-Doo…I don’t want to seem like a nut!”
The 53-year-old actor (The West Wing, Parks and Recreation, Code Black) explained his reason for the show was based on his sons’ childhood ghost stories, an obsession which he described as “our cowboys and Indians”.
The trio of Lowes bonded over yarns about Bigfoot, UFOs, and other inexplicable phenomena. The show was born out of their love of ghost and paranormal TV shows and their desire to pull the curtain and see for themselves if the psychic entities they sought actually existed.
This inspired a bit of research ahead of the show, but at the end of the day Lowe admitted:”It’s just more fun to believe. It’s more fun, I don’t care [if it’s real or not].”
The critics asked Lowe point blank if he really believed in these ghostly apparitions. Lowe said: “We don’t really know what we’re doing. We don’t really care.”
When pressed further about how they determine what is a true paranormal incident, Lowe good-naturedly said: “Don’t ask me how. Don’t ask me the science. I don’t know.”
In an odd detour, Lowe mentioned that his friend Charlie Sheen made a compelling case that the moon “was hollow”.
In ghost-hunting, timing is crucial too. Lowe illuminated further: “It seems like the really good stuff happens after midnight when all you want to do is go to bed.”
Showing footage earlier, Lowe added some background information on one episode: “In Preston Castle [in Ione, California], we saw furniture moving, heard voices. We never thought we’d capture tangible stuff.”
Adventures will see the Lowes checking out an alien base located 2,000ft under water off the coast of Malibu, visiting a shaman at Preston Castle, an abandoned boys reformatory to connect with spirits, and training with a covert government operative.
The Lowe Files premieres Wednesday, August 2 at 10/9c on A&E.