Steven Spielberg’s Amblin TV Developing Alien Documentary Series for Netflix

One of Steven Spielberg’s seminal sci-fi projects was 1977’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and now his production company Amblin is returning to the otherworldly realm with the documentary series Encounters for Netflix. The upcoming four-part project is said to be diving deep into first-hand experiences that subjects claimed to have experienced in which they came into contact with beings from beyond. With Netflix being the home of the rebooted Unsolved Mysteries, which notably focuses more on true-crime stories than on the paranormal, the upcoming Encounters series will hopefully fill that paranormal programming void. 

Deadline describes of the upcoming Encounters, “Each episode tells a single story: strange lights in the sky over small-town Texas; submersible space crafts haunting a coastal Welsh village; an alien encounter with schoolchildren in Zimbabwe and non-human intelligence reportedly interfering with a nuclear power plant in Japan. Told from the perspective of firsthand experiencers — in the places where the sightings occurred — and guided by scientists and military personnel, the series highlights the profoundly human impact of these encounters on lives, families, and communities.”

Creator of Max’s Generation Hustle Yon Motskin will direct the four-part series, which is targeting a September 27th release date.

The subject of UFOs, UAPs, and alien visitors is arguably hotter than ever, especially in the wake of a hearing on the subject earlier this summer in which retired Air Force Major David Grusch claims to have heard non-human biologics had previously been recovered from UFO wreckage. This isn’t confirmation of alien beings having visited Earth, but it’s some of the most resounding testimony regarding the possibility of such a visitation.

Unfortunately, no matter how compelling such testimonies might be, or how riveting a documentary might be, many experts in the paranormal field still think it will be quite some time before even the most compelling footage will be accepted as fact.

“I’ve always contended that you could have, say [aliens] land at 10 a.m. and they come out and they speak to reporters and you have all day to talk to them, you go in the ship, any question you want, and we put that on the 10 p.m. news. How many people are still not going to believe that happened?” UFO expert Ben Hansen previously shared with ComicBook.com about public perception of aliens. “They’re going to say that it’s a publicity stunt, it’s for a new movie. It’s the President using it as a distraction because of the economy, whatever. There’s going to be a lot of denial when you present someone with a reality shift.”

Stay tuned for details on Encounters before it premieres on Netflix on September 27th.

Are you looking forward to the series? Let us know in the comments below or contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter to talk all things horror and Star Wars!