Television series

Weird or What?

Name: Weird or What?
Genre: Documentary
Released: 2010
Cast: William Shatner, Peter MacNeill

Supernatural mystery
Dip in and out

William Shatner hosts this Discovery documentary series where each episode presents three unexplained phenomena—cryptids, hauntings, strange disappearances—and tests competing theories to see which might actually hold water. It's earnest, curious, and determined to take the weird seriously without descending into pure credulity. For anyone who grew up on The X-Files or still enjoys a mystery that refuses easy answers.

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you enjoy lighthearted paranormal anthologies that trade in campy suspense and tidy explanations, where three unrelated oddities arrive in one hour and move on before you can tire of any of them.

Skip it if you want rigorous science or a sincere, deep dive into any single mystery, since each segment skims its theories quickly and leans on dramatic reenactment and hosted showmanship.

What it asks of you: Sixty minutes split into three short stories, so it rewards casual attention and a willingness to let one tale give way to the next without much lingering.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

The X-Files1993

The obvious ancestor: agents investigating the bizarre and supernatural with real tension. Every episode holds that same balance between science and the impossible that makes you want to believe.

But Six seasons in, the mythology gets tangled and uneven. Some episodes are genuinely creepy; others feel padded. The pacing can drag.

In Search of Monsters2019

Colin Furze hunts down the origins of legendary creatures with genuine field investigation. It's playful without being dismissive—it respects both the folklore and the people who believe in it.

But Only three seasons. The investigations don't always reach satisfying conclusions, and sometimes the charm feels thin over four episodes.

Expedition Unknown2015

Josh Gates travels the world chasing cryptids, lost cities, and historical mysteries with infectious enthusiasm. The show genuinely tries to understand why people believe, not mock them for it.

But It's more adventure travel show than investigation. Most episodes end in 'we found interesting things but no definitive answers,' which is realistic but not always gripping.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Weird or What?

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

The OA2016

Both shows treat the impossible as real and worth investigating seriously. Neither winks at the audience. They demand you meet them where they are and ask 'what if?'

A blind woman returns from seven years missing with her sight restored and knowledge of impossible dimensions. It's beautiful, strange, genuinely moving, and commits fully to its own bizarre logic in ways that feel urgent and necessary. When it works, it's transcendent.

But Wildly ambitious and polarizing. Some viewers find it pretentious or incomprehensible. It ends on a cliffhanger and was cancelled before resolution—real heartbreak if you fall in love with it.

Ancient Aliens2009

Each episode explores one theory: UFOs built the pyramids, they visited North America, they triggered our mythology. Wildly speculative, but the commitment to the premise is hypnotic. Shatner himself appears in some episodes.

But The logic is circular and the experts are often fringe. If you value scientific rigor, you'll spend every episode yelling at the screen.

Unsolved Mysteries2020

The original template: three-minute story, multiple theories, no resolution. Robert Stack's narration is pure 80s gravitas. It's the DNA of Weird or What? but tighter and scarier.

But Some segments feel dated now, and the production values are obviously vintage. Pacing is faster to the point of breathlessness—not everyone wants to work that hard.

The Twilight Zone1959

If Weird or What? is asking 'could this really happen?', Twilight Zone asks 'what if it did?' Brilliant short stories with payoffs that make you think. A masterclass in suspense.

But It's drama, not documentary—completely different mode. Some episodes haven't aged well. You need patience for slow burns.

Mythbusters2003

Adam and Jamie literally build things to test whether urban legends, movie physics, and bizarre claims work. Same DNA of hypothesis-and-test, but with explosions and much higher production values.

But It's entertainment before rigorous science. The emotional payoff matters more than the accuracy, and that bothers some people.

The Outer Limits1963

Like Twilight Zone, but sci-fi anthology focused on the impossible made flesh. Some episodes are brilliant. It influenced everything weird that came after, including the sensibility of Weird or What?

But Uneven. Some episodes are tedious TV. The effects are now very obviously 60s practical work. Commitment required.

Paranormal Activity2007

Found-footage horror where invisible, incomprehensible things happen in a normal bedroom. It's made on a shoestring budget but works because it trusts silence and restraint. Raw and genuinely unsettling.

But Very slow. Long stretches of nothing happening on purpose. If you don't have patience for minimalism and ambiguity, you'll find it boring and contrived.

Chariots of the Gods1970

Weird or What? inherits this tradition directly—presenting theories about the unknown with genuine visuals and experts. This film is where that sensibility was born.

A documentary (or pseudo-documentary) arguing ancient alien visitors shaped human civilization. It's the granddaddy of all these ideas, beautifully shot, earnestly presented, and totally persuasive while you're watching it. A window into how these theories took root.

But The science is nonsense and some of the anthropology is offensive. Knowing what we know now, the gaps in logic are enormous. It's fascinating as a artifact of 70s thinking, less interesting as fact-seeking.

Twin Peaks1990

Both are genuinely curious about the spaces between explanation and mystery. Twin Peaks refuses easy answers the same way Weird or What? resists them. Both understand that sometimes the strangeness *is* the point, not something to be solved away.

A murder mystery that becomes cosmic horror—the FBI arrives in a town to solve a murder but finds something far stranger lurking underneath. It's visually hypnotic, genuinely eerie, and willing to go places logic won't follow. Television was never the same after.

But The later seasons lose focus and veer into soap opera. The newer revival is demanding and elusive—it doesn't give you catharsis. Some people find the whole thing pretentious or frustrating.