Tag Archives: Blue Ant Media

Featured, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Preview: T+E’s Hotel Paranormal checks in with more spooky tales

A little over a year ago, Season 1 of Hotel Paranormal launched on T+E. Narrated by Dan Aykroyd—who hosted PSI Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal, whose great-grandfather was a spiritualist and whose father published a book called A History of Ghosts—retraces the terrifying, true stories of those who have come face-to-face with otherworldly hotel guests.

Now the series is back for more scares in Season 2.

Returning Friday at 9 p.m. ET/PT on T+E with the ominously titled “Touched by Evil,” Aykroyd guides viewers through some twisted tales.

First up is a trip to Jefferson, Texas, in 2018, where new hotel owners Jeromy and Pam learn there are supernatural goings-on in their Jefferson Hotel. Built in the 1850s, the building had seen a lot of history and, apparently, contained some dark tales within its walls. It didn’t take long for Jeromy and Pam to witness clunks, clanks and exploding light bulbs. Were these the hallmarks of iffy plumbing and elderly electrical work or something more sinister? Without giving anything away, things get much, much worse.

As with Season 1, paranormal experts complement the stories told by witnesses, offering suggestions and clues as to what—and why—spookiness is going on. Many believe the fact hotel rooms, which see thousands of guests, are the perfect places to house spirits. 

Tune in to Hotel Paranormal and see if you agree.

Hotel Paranormal airs Fridays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on T+E.

Image courtesy of Blue Ant Media.

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Industry News, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Saloon Media starts production on History By The Numbers

From a media release:

Saloon Media, a Blue Ant Studios company, has started production on a new 20-part docu-series, History By The Numbers, to be produced in association with US-based Jupiter Entertainment. This upbeat and fast-paced series looks at the world’s collective global history by revealing surprising and unimaginable numerical facts about major historical events. Episodes explore iconic moments in history through a unique context of scale, volume and percentages, offering fresh perspectives of how the world adds up today. History By The Numbers is an original commission for global factual streaming service, CuriosityStream, where it will roll out across the U.S. and select territories internationally, while in Canada, the series will premiere on Blue Ant Media’s Smithsonian Channel Canada. Blue Ant International oversees international licensing for the series outside of the commissioned territories.

History by The Numbers is an energetic, fast-paced series taking an exploratory global dive into the extraordinary and often overlooked numbers that have created our world’s history. Each episode will delve into the numbers and over the top stats behind a different subject – from the massive growth of the global fast food empire to the wealth and bloodshed of the world’s top crime bosses, the herculean numbers behind Mount Everest, the lives of the richest people on earth and so much more.

History By The Numbers is produced by Saloon Media, a Blue Ant Studios company, in association with Jupiter Entertainment. From Saloon Media, Michael Kot serves as Executive Producer and Steve Gamester as Series Producer. Also serving as Executive Producers are Julie Chang, EVP of International Co-Productions, Blue Ant Media and Patrick Reardon and Ben Pagel for Jupiter Entertainment.

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Featured, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Preview: Smithsonian’s Searching for Secrets in the world’s iconic cities

When I travel to a new city, I always make sure I head a little off the beaten track and away from the more touristy areas to learn more about it. Now, thanks to a new Smithsonian Channel series, I’ve gleaned more about some of the world’s most iconic cities.

Searching for Secrets, debuting Sunday at 9 p.m. Eastern on the specialty channel, pulls back the curtain on some best-kept secrets and unappreciated history.

The first of six episodes is about New York City, a place I’ve been lucky enough to visit, explore and read some of the history of. But what’s unveiled on Sunday I’d heard nothing about.

Posed as a series of questions, the show reveals all. Visitors are allowed to enter the viewing area in Lady Liberty’s crown, but why not the torch? Timothy White, from New Jersey University, explains that the area—off-limits for more than 100 years—is part of a fascinating story of the First World War, terrorism and an island that no longer exists. By 1916, the U.S. was sending munitions to the Allies. The storage facility for waiting munitions was Black Tom Island, a fact that became known to the Germans and a plot was hatched to blow up the munitions and stop the flow of weapons overseas. Told through well-done recreations and CGI of the events that followed, the incredible story unfurls, the repercussions of which carry on today.

Next up, mixology historian Anthony Caporale visits the 21 Club. A place a who’s-who has visited during its storied past, Caporale heads to the basement to open a two-ton secret door hiding a tale of liquid treasure. The door is the product of Prohibition, that 1920s time when it was illegal to manufacture, sell or transport alcohol. To get around the rules, clubs like the 21 Club served booze illegally in spots advertised by word of mouth: the speakeasy. And, to make sure the police didn’t find the libations, cousins Jack Kriendler and Charlie Berns built a basement storage area for alcohol behind a heavy, hidden door.

Also investigated in Sunday’s excellent debut: a blizzard and Thomas Edison are responsible for the steam that billows from New York City’s manholes, and how huge piles of rock are connected to the city’s grid system and its famous skyline.

Searching for Secrets airs Sundays at 9 p.m. Eastern on Smithsonian Channel.

Image courtesy of Blue Ant Media.

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Ghost Walk, Industry News

Saloon Media announces collaboration with UK-based StoryFirst on scripted drama, Ghost Walk

From a media release:

Saloon Media, a Blue Ant Studios company, announced today its collaboration with UK-based StoryFirst on its first scripted drama, Ghost Walk (8×60’). Created by Brendan Foley (Cold Courage), who also serves as showrunner on the project, the one-hour series will follow a vivacious, aspiring Canadian actress and prickly British scientist who together become the unlikely ‘Mulder and Scully’ of the world of ghosts. The series kicks off Saloon Media’s exciting new scripted slate and is the first of many Canadian/UK partnerships that the production company will reveal in the coming months. Ghost Walk was developed with the support of Canadian specialty TV channel T+E and will be produced in Ontario, Canada and York, UK.

Ghost Walk will introduce audiences to Melissa Roth, an aspiring Canadian actress who takes a temporary position as a ghost walk tour guide in York, UK. After a fall down a flight of stairs, Melissa begins to see spirits. She soon teams up with a cynical, charismatic British scientist, Charles Conroy, in hopes that he will cure her in exchange for the fame and fortune he would earn proving whether or not ghosts exist. The duo develops a bond; partners investigating hauntings from historic York to rural Canada, while tumbling through the minefield of friendship and – just maybe – something more.

Saloon Media’s Melissa Williamson (top left) and Michael Kot serve as Executive Producers on Ghost Walk. Dominic Barlow (top right) will Executive Produce on behalf of StoryFirst. Sam Linton, Head of Original Content (Canada), Blue Ant Media is Executive Producer on behalf of T+E.

Saloon Media, a Blue Ant Studios company, is a creative hub for compelling new television and digital productions. The founding partners have a wealth of experience in broadcasting and factual and scripted production, and a track record for delivering successful and award-winning programs to international clients. Saloon’s productions have broadcast on History, National Geographic, Smithsonian, Investigation Discovery, CMT, SBS, ZDF, Yesterday, Four, More4, and Netflix. Saloon is a specialist in international co-production, working with like-minded production partners around the world to produce top quality returning series and high-impact specials. Saloon Media is based in Toronto. Saloonmedia.com

StoryFirst’s focus is on the development, production, and financing of high-quality television series for the global marketplace. Alongside developing ambitious drama with new and established writing talent, StoryFirst is a co-producing partner for producers of drama projects around the world.

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Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Season 3 of T+E’s Haunted Hospitals returns

From a media release:

T+E’s hit original series Haunted Hospitals (13×60’) returns for a third season with chilling stories of paranormal activity inside hospitals, asylums and long-term care homes. Featuring expert insight from paranormal investigators Morgan Knudsen, Christopher Brewer and Richard Estep, the new installment sees doctors and nurses stalked by tormented spirits; patients unlocking portals to other dimensions; and demonic entities lurking in corridors. These encounters are part of a paranormal pattern experienced by medical professionals and patients across Canada and around the globe. The documentary series takes viewers down spooky paths leading to unexpected twists, with shocking and hair-raising otherworldly encounters at every turn. Personal testimonies keep the storytelling authentic with a first-person production approach immersing audiences in fear. The world broadcast premiere of Haunted Hospitals airs Wednesday, March 10 at 8 p.m. ET/PT exclusively on T+E in Canada, during the channel’s nationwide free preview event running until May 2 across more than 8 million Canadian households.

The first two episodes of Haunted Hospitals, Season 3 include:

Episode 1 – Dance of Death, The Feeder, Swept Away
March 10 at 8 p.m. ET/PT
The series opener shows viewers Marlon Brandon, a nurse who begins experiencing the ghost of a young man who died while fighting for social justice that has returned to the hospital seeking closure. A near death experience for Emily Walsh, a patient, opens her up to the unknown dangers of a ghastly creature and Stephanie Ferreira, a pregnant woman, falls ill only to encounter the spirits of an anguished mother and the otherworldly cries of a baby in distress at the hospital.

Episode 2 – Soul Taker, The Iron Lung, Water Problems
March 17 at 8 p.m. ET/PT
In this episode, a personal support worker, Paige Mitchell, is on the night shift tending to an elderly patient when she is stalked by an energy-sucking entity. Christina Anderson, a nurse in a Catholic hospital, encounters the tormented soul of a nun and Kenny Irish is terrorized and chased through an abandoned psychiatric hospital while on a service call.

Haunted Hospitals is produced by BGM Inc. Robin Bicknell is the Series Producer. Bruno Dubé, Marlo Miazga, Sean Connoly and Corinna Lehr serve as Executive Producers. Robin Bicknell and Patrick Hepburn are Directors. Sara Soligo is the Story/Post Producer and Juan Montalvo is the Director of Photography.

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