The Basement: Bryce Zabel | Disclosure Day, Dark Skies, and Hollywood UFO Deals

In this episode, host AJ welcomes Bryce Zabel, an Emmy-winning TV creator, former CNN correspondent, and chairman emeritus of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Zabel is best known for creating the 1996 NBC series Dark Skies, a show about government UFO coverups that may have attracted real government attention. The conversation centers on extraordinary claims: during Dark Skies production, Zabel says men identifying themselves as Office of Naval Intelligence operatives appeared at his home and office, offering classified UFO information in exchange for embedding it in his scripts. The encounters escalated to a bizarre midnight cemetery meeting request, which Zabel declined. One operative handed him a cryptic formula described as 'secrets of the universe' involving sound, light, and frequency—a document Zabel lost for decades but recently recovered. The episode also covers a secondhand account from Zabel's writing partner about Reagan's Secretary of Energy, John Harrington, who allegedly revealed he'd been briefed on disturbing extraterrestrial information at an underground West Virginia facility in 1981, years before such facilities were publicly known. Zabel discusses his journalism background, including a memorable debate with Carl Sagan about UFOs, and addresses whether Steven Spielberg has been an intelligence asset. The conversation touches on Zabel's alternative history novels, his work with Spielberg on the miniseries Taken, and how the Men in Black film production forced expensive reshoots of Dark Skies through 19 bizarre content demands. Zabel maintains he's not asking anyone to believe him, only offering his testimony as part of a larger disclosure mosaic.

• Zabel claims men from Office of Naval Intelligence approached him during Dark Skies production, offering UFO secrets in exchange for scripted disclosure.
• The alleged ONI operatives gave Zabel a handwritten formula described as secrets of the universe involving sound, light, and frequency, which he plans to publicly release.
• Zabel's writing partner says Reagan's Secretary of Energy John Harrington confided he cried nightly after alien briefings at a West Virginia underground facility in 1981.
• Zabel received an anonymous we are watching you postcard at his home address while shooting the Dark Skies pilot in 1996.
• Columbia TV forced 11 days of Dark Skies pilot reshoots with 19 non-negotiable demands including no black suits, elevators, or autopsies to accommodate Men in Black film production.
• David Grusch reportedly contacted Zabel's partner attempting to interview John Harrington about the alleged 1981 briefing on extraterrestrial matters.
• Zabel argues Steven Spielberg's new film Disclosure Day represents the director's closing argument on UFOs after 30 alien-themed projects spanning his career.