A&E Lines Up Rob Lowe Nonfiction Series

A&E Network has ordered the Rob Lowe nonfiction series The Lowe Files from Critical Content. The nine-episode series will follow Rob Lowe and his two sons, Matthew and John Owen, as they travel through the country to explore unsolved mysteries, a curiosity that Rob has had since childhood.

“Since I was a kid I’ve loved unexplained legends, strange phenomena and the scary, supernatural stories told around campfires,” said Lowe. “When I became a father I shared those tales with my two sons. Together we bonded over Bigfoot, UFO’s, and every creepy and bizarre story we could find, passionately debating if they were real…or not.  And we swore that someday the three of us would go on our own adventure to find out. That day has come.”

In each episode, the Lowe boys will seek out a mysterious story and immerse themselves in the experience. A&E says the Lowes will “conduct deliberate and scientific investigations on a highly sophisticated level by meeting with top experts, using high tech monitoring equipment, and taking in-depth training courses.” 

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“Watching Rob, Matthew and John Owen take this awesome adventure together, something that has long been a part of their family narrative, is the kind of organic programming that our viewers respond to best,” said Elaine Frontain Bryant, executive VP and head of programming, A&E Network. “Their explorations will certainly lead them to dynamic and exciting places, but a nostalgic journey for a father and his sons is what’s at the heart of the series’ underlying mission.

The Lowes’ missions include exploring an alien base located 2,000 feet underwater off the coast of Malibu; working with a renowned shaman at Preston Castle, an abandoned boys reformatory, in hopes of connecting with spirits; and training with a top-secret government operative in methods of remote viewing, a challenge to identify images from great distances. 

Rob Lowe’s films include St. Elmo’s Fire, About Last Night and The Outsiders, and his TV work includes West Wing and Parks and Recreation

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He said the ultimate goal on the new series is to create lasting memories with his sons, who are on the verge of adulthood. 

The Lowe Files is produced for A&E Network by Critical Content. Executive producers for Critical Content are Tom Forman, Jon Beyer, Brad Bishop and Douglas McCallie. Rob Lowe is an executive producer. Executive producers for A&E Network are Frontain Bryant, Amy Savitsky and Devon Hammonds.

Michael Malone

Michael Malone, senior content producer at B+C/Multichannel News, covers network programming, including entertainment, news and sports on broadcast, cable and streaming; and local broadcast television. He hosts the podcasts Busted Pilot, about what’s new in television, and Series Business, a chat with the creator of a new program, and writes the column “The Watchman.” He joined B+C in 2005. His journalism has also appeared in The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Playboy and New York magazine.