Discovery+ Tackles Roswell with The Final Verdict

Discovery+ is getting even more out of this world. While the ghost-focused unscripted paranormal programming has dominated the network, the streaming platform is still on the light side when it comes to aliens (with exceptions such as Paranormal Caught on Camera, Ben Hansen's UFO Witness, and older episodes of Ancient Aliens). 

But that's about to change with Roswell: The Final Verdict

The six-part miniseries, premiering with the first three episodes July 2 (the anniversary of the 1947 Roswell Incident), with the following three released on subsequent Fridays. 

Roswell: The Final Verdict will examine the infamous incident at a New Mexico ranch, which then engulfed the entire nearby community of Roswell. Most people directly involved with the event have died, but the show promises to analyze "haunting first-person accounts from the past ... in a totally modern way, using artificial intelligence (AI) lie detection software to test if the eyewitnesses are telling the truth." 

The miniseries is produced by October Films for Discovery+. For October Films, the executive producers are Chris Muckle and Mike Warner. For discovery+, the executive producer is Ron Simon. Ben Hansen also appears to be involved in some capacity, although it is not yet stipulated to what degree. 

Below is the official press release synopsis and episode breakdown. Will you be watching? Is there still a mystery to explore with Roswell, or has every question been answered?

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Did aliens really crash-land near Roswell, New Mexico, in 1947? As the world anxiously anticipates the release of declassified UFO secrets from the Pentagon, ROSWELL: THE FINAL VERDICT invades discovery+ on Friday, July 2, the 74th anniversary of the most notorious extraterrestrial incident in U.S. history. 

 The mini-series debuts on discovery+ with three episodes and then the final three will drop on Fridays. In 1947, a rancher near Roswell, New Mexico, claimed to have discovered mysterious debris on his property, triggering decades of official government denials, and countless conspiracy theories, about aliens. Now, tapes of haunting first-person accounts from the past are being analyzed in a totally modern way, using artificial intelligence (AI) lie detection software to test if the eyewitnesses are telling the truth. 

Although most of the witnesses are now deceased, AI permits truth to be separated from fiction and the most important UFO event in world history can be weighed in the balance with all the evidence at hand. Truth seekers will now decide ... the final verdict. "DNA analysis revolutionized crime fighting by reopening cold cases from decades past. Now another type of technological breakthrough is blowing the lid off the secrets the government has kept from the public regarding alien visitation,” said Ben Hansen, former federal agent and UFO expert. “Using new AI analysis, ironically developed in large part for the government, we can now quite accurately ascertain the truthfulness of statements and events as told by witnesses to the most controversial UFO event of all time.” 

Over six one-hour episodes, harrowing accounts drive an explosive and cinematic minute-by-minute exploration of the Roswell incident through the eyes of those who were there. Haunted by a string of sudden terror moments, this is a frightening new journey into the heart of the nation’s most disturbing alien encounter. Like voices speaking from the past, these Roswell witnesses now have science to back up the truth of their claims. 

 Episode 1 – “Crash Landings” – Begins Streaming Friday, July 2 On July 2, 1947, a rancher discovered otherworldly debris strewn across the desert near Roswell, New Mexico. When a U.S. Army intelligence officer investigated the evidence, he concluded, "It was not anything from this earth." Sophisticated lie detection software puts his bold claim to the test. 

Episode 2 – “Alien Invasion” – Begins Streaming Friday, July 2 In July 1947, visitors to the south of Roswell, New Mexico, described stumbling upon a crashed UFO. Some witnesses even claim to have seen the bodies of aliens. Their historic testimony has been dismissed for decades. Now, powerful AI lie detection software puts their extraordinary claims to the test. 

Episode 3 – “Silencing Witnesses” – Begins Streaming Friday, July 2 With mounting evidence of a UFO crash, a future four-star general ordered a press release to announce the news to the world. But just as the Roswell incident is grabbing headlines, the story is suppressed. Cutting-edge AI lie detection software probes the truth behind the cover-up. 

 Episode 4 – “Discredit and Humiliate” – Begins Streaming Friday, July 9 Eyewitnesses claimed to see strange debris and the bodies of aliens in secretive Hangar 84 at Roswell Army Airfield. As activity intensified, the U.S. government revealed its official version of events – a crashed weather balloon. An advanced AI program asks whether any of it can be believed. 

 Episode 5 – “Alien Autopsy” – Begins Streaming Friday, July 16 Did the U.S. government conduct an alien autopsy at Roswell? It has always been one of the most explosive claims about the Roswell incident. Now for the first time, the world’s most sophisticated lie detector probes the evidence to unveil the shocking truth. 

Episode 6 – “Extraterrestrial Truth” – Begins Streaming Friday, July 23 Decades after the Roswell incident, the U.S. government fights to suppress public interest in UFO sightings and extraterrestrial contact. Cutting-edge AI compares the government's account of the crash with what it has uncovered. After 70 years, are we getting closer to the truth?