The network rebranded at the end of last year with a new logo – Trvl – and has launched a raft of paranormal series including Ghost Adventures, Haunted Live, specials including Chris Jericho: Monster Hunt and month-long event Ghostober. Its latest series is Portals to Hell starring Jack Osboune and paranormal researcher and investigator Katrina Weidman.
Travel Channel boss Jane Litman told Deadline, “You can see from the logo that we’re trying to redefine what travel is for today’s audience. We have a saying in our development room which is ‘if you can find it on YouTube or Yelp, let’s not make a TV show about it’. We’re really trying to redefine the brand for today.”
Osbourne also joked to Deadline, “We also went to eight different cities.”
The show, which launches April 19, follows the pair as they explore this phenomenon, investigating each haunted location in search of irrefutable evidence that a spirit world exists, and death is not the end.
The eight-part series sees them visit New Orleans’ infamous LaLaurie Mansion – where they are the first and only paranormal team to ever investigate the disturbing hauntings within its walls. They also investigate spooky spots including Bobby Mackey’s Music World in Kentucky, Eastern State Penitentiary in Pennsylvania, the Alaskan Hotel in Juneau, Ohio’s Twin City Opera House, Strawberry River Bed and Breakfast on the outskirts of Utah’s Skinwalker Ranch, Pennsylvania’s Emerald Hill Estate and the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum in West Virginia.
The show is produced by Osbourne Media and Critical Content. It is exec produced by Osbourne, Peter Glowski, Elaine White, Anna Geddes and Jenny Daly.
“I’ve been obsessed with the supernatural ever since I was a kid,” said Osbourne. “I’m excited to team up with Katrina to investigate the darkest, most sinister places on earth. We’re walking headfirst into the heart of darkness – and we’re excited to take brave viewers with us.”
“For over a decade, my work in the paranormal field has brought me to the edge of the unknown,” added Weidman. “As we explore these disturbing locations, these potential portals, Jack and I are determined to document as much as we can to try and uncover the source of these hauntings.”
