‘The Proof Is Out There’ Host Tony Harris on Bigfoot, UFOs, Alien Corpses & Spotting Fakes
Q&A
Just when Tony Harris thought he had seen it all as an award-winning journalist, he began hosting The Proof Is Out There. Premiering in 2021, the History Channel series sees the host delve into everything from Bigfoot, UFOs, and sea monsters to alien carvings, phantom ships, and ancient artifacts.
He works with a team of investigators and experts to analyze video footage and other findings to decipher if what’s presented is authentic and an unexplained phenomenon, or fake. In the midst of a string of all-new episodes, we caught up with Harris to preview what’s to come.
What has the experience been like to see the show evolve over the four seasons?
Tony Harris: It’s been great to see the show’s growth. When we started this thing, we weren’t sure where it would go or if it would be anything. I think what has happened is there is so much more interest in the space. We’ve seen congressional hearings. I just think the audience has really started to find us in a significant way, which you hope for. Our tagline is to keep those cameras rolling. If you see something, send it to us. And it’s really happened. I think it has been a function of the audience that they take this ride with us. It’s just a fun watch whether you are skeptical or not. We try to stay on the news and move the story forward. We don’t try to be breaking news.
There was a story recently about a scientist in Mexico who presented alien corpses to the Mexican Congress. We feel by the time we get to it we can advance the story of it, which is fun. It’s always been fun to link our stories to a broader historical context. I love the season on air right now. We have a couple of pieces where viewers have said, “I saw that piece last season. I didn’t agree with your verdict and did work of my own. Let me present my findings.” We’re getting that level of engagement. This space keeps expanding. I can see us continuing to do this for a while.
History Channel
Of course, the staples are topics like Bigfoot and UFOs, but even in the next episode you also analyze footage of a family struck by lightning in their vehicle.
The pillars of the show have always been the audience can’t get enough of Bigfoot and Yeti and Sasquatch’s story. The audience has such an appetite for these stories, so we’re happy to update them on it and link it to history. We are also taking on more and different stories. That’s driven by what people are sending us that we find interesting. They’re asking, “What about this two-headed snake that looks like a serpent? What about this cloud formation that people see as the face of God or something demonic in it? Will you take a look at this?” That has been wonderful to see.
Has it been harder to decipher if what you’re seeing is contrived as AI and technology become more sophisticated?
That is the challenge. We try to be 100 percent truthful. We want to be able to discern what is real and what is fake. When it’s CGI or clever AI, we call it out when we see it. The success of the show has come from people also wanting to challenge us a little bit. They will try to come up with clever fakes. A part of what is online now is really clever, well-done fakes, forgeries, and hoaxes. Part of what we’re seeing now is people saying, “Tony, we got you.” They stump the expert. That has become a game. I’m happy to say at this point we have better stuff than you got as we’re able to figure it out. That may change at some point. Another thing I love about our program is we are willing to say, “Hey, we got it wrong.” As a journalist, this does lean into my background. We own up to it if we are wrong and revisit something. We’ve had a couple of instances where folks have said, “Take a look at this again.” We own it if we do find we were wrong. There is one instance that this comes up this season.
How good do you think you yourself are at spotting fakes?
I think I’m pretty good with the AI and certainly the AI voices, but I will tell you resources are getting better all the time. So, I don’t know where we’ll be in five years because technology is improving. Now I think I’m pretty good, and I know our team is even better.
What can you tell us about new topics you haven’t explored on the show yet coming up?
We’re taking a look at some things that would be classified in the paranormal space. We’re starting to explore that a bit more. We’re starting to take a look at stigmata. We haven’t touched that before. I think there may be some of that in the season now. I know there is more of that upcoming episode dropping soon. What I will say is thanks to the audience for taking the show and making it their own and challenging us in ways I didn’t anticipate when we started this thing years ago. We’ve listened to you in terms of the subject matter you want us to look into. Our new episodes are reflecting that.
Any discussion about you yourself entering the field to investigate?
Scott, it’s cool you say this because I’m hearing it more and more. It’s one of those things where we want to be responsive to what the audience wants. There has been a low murmur of a conversation about that. I expect that to pick up because I’m hearing it more and more. No issue with me. I’m happy to go wherever it takes me. Wherever it takes me. I’m happy to do that. When you do something for a few years, you want to shake things up with something new. At some point, I can see them saying, “Let’s shake it up. Let’s get Tony’s ass to Roswell.” I’d welcome it.
The Proof Is Out There, Fridays, 10/9c, History Channel
