Museum Founders Greg & Dana Newkirk Top Streaming Charts with Hellier 2 on Amazon Prime

On November 29th, the second season of the Planet Weird documentary series Hellier premiered on Amazon Prime, bringing a new chapter to the ongoing investigation of High Strangeness in Kentucky. Now the series, which centers around a decade long investigation by museum founders Greg & Dana Newkirk, is topping the streaming charts.

Thanks to its beautiful cinematography, haunting soundtrack, and true-to-life look at an actual boots-on-the-ground investigation, the Hellier series has quickly developed a cult following seen by few paranormal television programs, hailed by reviewers as a “an instant classic” and “essential to the understanding of paranormal phenomena.” But while reviewers are gushing about the groundbreaking new series, Amazon’s numbers back it up.

In just a week, Hellier‘s second season has garnered hundreds of five-star reviews, topping both the “Trending TV ” and “Popular TV” charts on Amazon Prime, ranking it with multi-million dollar productions such as Man in the High Castle, The Boys, and Good Omens. For a paranormal documentary series, particularly one without a network and big-budget production company attached, the response is unprecedented.

“I think we’re proving that television audiences are eager for more thoughtful, beautiful, genre-defying paranormal content,” Greg Newkirk says. “Hellier is a project that is redefining what paranormal-based television can be, and we’re doing it with half a dozen people. Imagine what it’s going to be like when a network catches on and partners with us for more.”

The series documents the investigation of an alleged extraterrestrial visitation in the dying coal community of Hellier, Kentucky. What begins as a search for the so-called “Kentucky Goblins”, soon descends into a mind-bending mystery involving classic ufological cases such as 1967’s Point Pleasant, West Virginia Mothman encounters, rumors of underground murder-cults, and slumbering, ancient gods. Through the use of boundary-pushing, never-before-seen parapsychological experiments, in-depth archival research, and the help of occultists, eyewitnesses, and undeniable synchronicity, the team begins to close in on who – or what – has sent them into the darkest corners of the Appalachian Mountains.

“Hellier is special for a lot of reasons, but one of the most important is how crowd-sourced the project is,” says Dana Matthews. “We’re giving viewers the tools to go out and do their own investigations into High Strangeness, tools that go beyond EMF meters and EVP records. We’re giving them book lists, actual parapsychological techniques, maps – things that encourage curiosity, learning, and adventure. Hellier is interactive.”

Many viewers don’t realize just how interactive Hellier is – or how much they had already taken part in the investigations shown in the television series. In season two, viewers learn that several key moments of the investigation were pulled directly from live-streamed adventures with the researchers, a perk offered by the Traveling Museum of the Paranormal & Occult’s Membership Program. Museum members had experienced – and influenced – the second season nearly a year before its release. Who knows what kind of project the members will be part of next?

While paranormal research is still attempting to map uncharted territory, there is one thing that’s certain: Hellier is at the front of the expedition, shining a light into the dense jungle of the unexplained.

Hellier features Greg & Dana Newkirk, Connor J. Randall, Tyler Strand, and Karl Pfeiffer. All episodes of Hellier: Season 2  are now streaming on Amazon Prime. Check out Hellier.tv for episode descriptions, downloads, behind-the-scenes looks, and special features. Follow @WeirdHQ and #HELLIER for more exclusive content and updates. 

Hellier is produced by Planet Weird. Executive producers for Planet Weird are Greg Newkirk and Dana Newkirk. Hellier is directed by Karl Pfeiffer and co-produced by Connor Randall.