The ongoing soap opera that is the Ghost Hunters franchise continues, with news coming out that streaming service Discovery+ will be reviving the series. But the story is not that simple. Not simple at all.
A Ghost Nation Divided
The confusion began back in 2016, when it was announced that the SyFy Channel was canceling Ghost Hunters after 11 seasons. Jason Hawes, who was the remaining original founder at the time after Grant Wilson suspiciously departed, was cagey about why the show was leaving SyFy. For a while, the show’s future was in doubt. I did a story or two on all of this, and I speculated on where the show might end up. I could not have been more wrong.
Time passed, and there was no news. The Ghost Hunters franchise seemed to be dead. However, cast members Jason Hawes, Steve Gonsalves, and Dave Tango announced in 2019 that they were finally returning to TV. But not on Ghost Hunters. Now, they had a new show called Ghost Nation, which would air on the Travel Channel. Shortly after their announcement, former TAPS co-founder and Ghost Hunters costar Grant Wilson made a shocking announcement that he’d be returning to TV as well. His new show? Ghost Hunters.
Confused Yet? I Don’t Blame You…
Grant’s revival of Ghost Hunters would air on A&E, and feature an all-new cast of investigators to assist him. It was direct competition for Ghost Nation, and had fans divided. Hawes and Wilson, once best friends and co-leaders of TAPS, now seemed to be having a cold war of sorts behind the scenes. Mainly over the ownership rights to the Ghost Hunters name. Neither of them would ever come out directly to address what was happening, but Hawes took a few subtle yet public shots at Grant and Ghost Hunters. Both shows were produced and ran for two seasons. And then COVID hit.
Back in October of 2020, Grant took to social media to inform fans that the future of Ghost Hunters was once again uncertain. The coronavirus had shut down production on many TV shows. And Grant wasn’t sure if the show would be renewed. Meanwhile, in January of 2021, Ghost Nation was moved to the new streaming service Discovery+. But that’s not how this story ends…
Last week, it was announced that Ghost Hunters would in fact be returning. And to Discovery+, no less. But here’s the kicker: Grant Wilson would not be returning. Instead, the cast from Ghost Nation would now be taking over. Yeah, my head hurts a little too. Anyway, the official press release states that 13 new episodes will be streaming later this year. But this time, with Hawes, Gonsalves, and Tango starring in the show.
Hey, all! If you didn’t know by now, Ghost Hunters was sold to Discovery+ but with the team from Ghost Nation. I was not involved in this transaction nor am I a part of the new rendition. I wish them much success with it!
— Grant Wilson (@grantswilson) May 19, 2021
So What’s Going On?
Honestly? I have no freaking idea. Grant mentions that Ghost Hunters was sold to Discovery+. He also mentions that he had no part in the transaction. And judging by his video from a few months back, as well as his wording here, it seems like this all happened without his knowing. The behind-the-scenes machinations of this show have had a history of remaining mysterious. And that seems to be the case again. I can’t find much info on what happened here. I’m guessing A&E initially bought the name from SyFy and decided to give the show to Grant. A&E then must have sold the name to Discovery+, who decided to bring in Hawes, et al. Grant is being classy about it, as always. But it seems like Jason Hawes has won this round of the fight for Ghost Hunters.
I am confused but so glad that Jason, Steve and Tango will continue with whatever name. I am just so sorry that Grant Wilson will not be part of the group. I admired his work, he was always so credible and had a very realistic/no nonsense approach to claims. Very classy guy whom I have met and is just the same in person as he is on tv. He was working with a team on the Ghost Hunters reboot that really needed to be tweaked (I couldn’t even watch most of the 2nd season – cardboard cutouts would have been just as effective, sorry) after the first season but perhaps the name ‘Ghost Hunters’ belongs with Jason Hawes et al.
I’m kind of bummed. I *tried* watching Ghost Nation, but wow. What a borefest. Jay always looked bored out of his mind, Steve and Tango never seemed to really want to be there either, most of the episodes were just stupid reenactments of the alleged history of the house, they didn’t research most of the alleged history, and then we get like 5 minutes of ghost hunting where nothing happens.
Ghost Hunters with Grant wasn’t great either, but it wasn’t a humongous snoozefest like Ghost Nation. How do we know Ghost Hunters with Jay, Steve, and Tango isn’t just going to be more of the same of Ghost Nation?