Showtime will examine the fascination surrounding unidentified flying objects with its new four-part documentary series, UFO, premiering Sunday (Aug. 8). 

The four-part limited docuseries, executive produced by J.J. Abrams, Glen Zipper, Mark Monroe and Sean Stuart, examines the history of UFOs through cultural and political touchpoints, including testimony from eyewitnesses across the country. Ignited by the 2017 New York Times story revealing the Pentagon had been secretly tracking UFOs for years, UFO looks to find the truth behind the phenomenon, according to Showtime.

I recently spoke to Zipper about the series, the appeal of UFO-themed content as well as his own thoughts and beliefs about the phenomenon in a wide-ranging interview, an edited version of which appears below.

Picture This: What influenced you to develop the series? 

Glen Zipper: I’ve always had an interest in UFOs but I'm a very pragmatic and practical thinker. I think I fell into that ‘I want to believe’ category, but not necessarily the ‘I believe’ category. When I surveyed all the content that was out there about UFO's and unexplained phenomena, the majority of it seemed to be sensationalistic and trended toward what you would come to expect of the National Inquirer. But then when the New York Times and the Washington Post started to cover the UFO phenomenon, I thought the time was right for us to take a closer look at the topic in film and television. But we wanted to look at it through the same lens that the New York Times and Washington Post were viewing it and to give a really credible, wholesale look at UFO phenomena, from the beginning of our fascination with it up to the present day. 

PT: What is it about UFOs that continues to fascinate the American public?

GZ: Well, there's the entertainment factor -- we've been conditioned to enjoy science fiction and horror content, and every time you go see a scripted film or watch a scripted television show about aliens, they are usually here to kill us. I think that in some measure has stoked the flames of our interest in the UFO phenomenon. But I think on a more thoughtful level UFOs represent the unknown. If UFOs exist, that means that there's a lot more out there than we understand. If there's more out there than we understand, there's also the potential for more hope that if something bigger than ourselves arise, perhaps that could help us with the issues that we're suffering through here on earth. That could include cures for diseases, or maybe the fractures between us as a society and as a world start to heal once we see that, relative to an alien species, we’re all brothers and sisters. So when you combine those two things there’s an irresistible pull toward UFOs. 

PT: You mentioned the New York Times and Washington Post stories on UFOs. Did those stories aid in getting this series developed and picked up by Showtime?  

GZ: The inception of the project was a meeting between myself and (Showtime Networks EVP, Nonfiction Programming) Vinnie Malhotra. We were trying to find something to collaborate on and we both were interested in UFO's. Once we started to do the actual work the New York Times story became very much the spine of the entire series. We have Leslie Kean and Ralph Blumenthal who were two of the reporters involved in that [New York Times] story participating in our series. They are really credible, persuasive and thoughtful voices in the space.

PT: What, what are you hoping to accomplish with the series?

GZ: I don't think we're going to convince anyone that UFOs exist or don't exist. That was never the mission of the series. I think it was about presenting UFOs and unexplained phenomena through a different lens. What you'll see in this series is that civilians who have claimed to see these phenomena for decades are often subjected to ridicule. I think what we want to do is slide the conversation to a place where it is no longer living in that context. We want to be able to have thoughtful conversations about the UFO phenomenon and be open-minded about it, and allow people to express their views without fear of ridicule. When you watch this series there are dissenting opinions as well and they're treated with equal respect. So I think it's about leveling up the conversation to a different place that allows for a better and more thoughtful dialogue. 

PT: Do you foresee the opportunity to maybe extend this series beyond the episodes that you currently have if the government continues to release more information about UFOs? 

GZ: That’s an interesting question. I think when we started this series, myself, [J.J. Abrams’ production company] Bad Robot and Showtime viewed it as a one off limited series. Once we started to turn over some rocks and to see how many stories there are to tell -- not just as it pertains to the UFO phenomenon but what you also might consider about paranormal activity, whether or not there are multi-verses, and life after death, it really gets interesting. In researching UFOs, these other threads started to reveal themselves internally. I’m not  speaking for Showtime, but we were very curious about maybe continuing on and exploring some of these other themes and storylines, and having something that was much more akin to a documentary X-Files series.

PT: You started out by saying you weren’t necessarily a believer in UFOs. Once you completed the show did that change at all?

GZ: I think that I feel more comfortable believing. But I'm one of those people -- and I think there's probably a lot of people that are like me -- who aren't really going to believe until [extraterrestrials] show up and shake our hands, literally or figuratively. It’s just one of those things where I'd be far less surprised now if that happened then I would have been before I produced the series.

Also Read: Growing UFO Interest Spawns Cable, Streaming Shows

Fox airs TMZ Investigates: UFOs: The Pentagon Proof June 29. The Pentagon is scheduled to release a declassified report on UFOs in the coming weeks, and the TMZ special sheds light on what might be revealed. 

“TMZ will walk viewers through UFO footage, including a never-before-seen video of UFOs from the deck of a USS naval ship, and speak with some of the people who experienced it firsthand. Interviews will feature senators, military pilots, a Harvard scientist, former Pentagon officials and the two people who pushed the government to release information it has held secret for more than 70 years,” said Fox. 

The Harvey Levin-produced special runs for 60 minutes. 

“Interest in UFOs and extra-terrestrial life are at an all-time high,” said Rob Wade, president of alternative entertainment and specials, Fox Entertainment. “They are history’s great unknown, and this special, led by Harvey and his team, will be a deep and far-reaching examination of the most up-to-date findings and evidence to try to answer one of the most vexing questions ever: ‘Are we not alone?’” 

The special will focus on what Fox calls “a massive government cover-up and the retaliation that pilots, scientists, Pentagon officials and others suffered by pressing for the truth.” The investigation asks if the Pentagon release “tells the real story,” and if not, how to get the answers to people’s questions. 

“The Pentagon's report will be as important for what it doesn’t answer as what it does,” said Levin. “The show is a process of elimination of sorts, taking theories off the table and seeing what we’re left with will undoubtedly be pretty amazing.”

UFOs: The Pentagon Proof is produced by Warner Bros. Unscripted Television in association with Telepictures. Ryan Regan executive produces with Levin. 

Showtime will premiere in August a documentary series from J.J. Abrams that explores the fascination behind unidentified flying objects, the network said. 

The four-part series, UFO, debuts Aug. 8 and explores unsettling theories of a subject that recently reached national headlines, and what clandestine influence the American government, lucrative private companies and the military may have in shielding the truth behind extraterrestrial phenomena to further their own agendas, according to Showtime.

The series follows the bombshell New York Times story in 2017 revealing that the Pentagon had been secretly tracking UFOs for years, and examines the history of the phenomenon through cultural and political touchpoints, including testimony from eyewitnesses across the country.

Also Read: Showtime to Debut 'American Rust' Series in September

UFO is a co-production by Bad Robot and Zipper Bros Films. The Showtime streaming service will release all four episodes of the new series UFO to its subscribers at midnight on Aug. 8, prior to its on-air debut on the premium channel that evening, said the network.  

History has greenlit a new six-part series to debut in May that seeks to shine light on a top secret government program tasked to evaluate the existence of Unidentified Flying Objects.

The series, Unidentified: Inside America’s UFO Investigation, features an interview with a former military intelligence official and Special Agent In-Charge, who confirmed the existence of the hidden government program that investigated Unidentified Aerial Phenomena, including numerous videos of reported encounters, according to History. 

Also appearing in the documentary are Tom DeLonge, co-founder and president of To The Stars Academy of Arts & Science, and Chris Mellon, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense and Intelligence, who helped expose a series of UFO encounters and embark on new investigations, said the network.

Related: History Renews ‘Project Blue Book’

“History is committed to creating informational, authentic programming that keeps our audience intrigued to learn more,” said Eli Lehrer, executive vice president and head of programming, History. “This is not a UFO hunting show, but a series that will hopefully provoke a cultural conversation about unexplained phenomena and allow our viewers to ultimately draw their own conclusions. Tom’s curiosity and passion for this subject matter, combined with his team, are the perfect partners to deliver this breakthrough series.”