The Original 1996 Dark Skies Electronic Press Kit

The Original 1996 Dark Skies Electronic Press Kit
This vintage 1996 Dark Skies Electronic Press Kit was created by Columbia TriStar Television to promote the launch of NBC’s alien-invasion conspiracy thriller. It offers a rare behind-the-scenes look at how the series was introduced to the press and public, including extensive interview material with co-creator Bryce Zabel — mullet haircut and all. Thirty years later, the EPK plays like a time capsule from a very specific moment in television history, when The X-Files had opened the door for darker conspiracy storytelling and Dark Skies pushed even further by tying UFO secrecy, Majestic-12, Roswell, the JFK assassination, and 1960s history into one sweeping alternate-history mythology. The show’s original marketing leaned hard into the ominous promise: “History Is a Lie” and “The Storm Is Coming.” Dark Skies — created by Bryce Zabel and Brent V. Friedman — was NBC’s 1996 alien-invasion series about former congressional aide John Loengard, abductee Kim Sayers, and their fight against the alien Hive through the hidden corridors of American history. Its central premise was that the major events of the 1960s were not just history, but evidence of a secret war hiding in plain sight. Watching this EPK now is a chance to see how Dark Skies was presented before audiences had experienced the full ride — and how much of its UFO mythology, government cover-up themes, and “truth under the cover of fiction” approach still resonate today. Also: yes, Bryce has seen the haircut. He knows.