Top Dead Center Films, headed by Parkites and Hollywood veterans Gary and Julie Auerbach, are preparing to unlock the mysteries of “Monsters & Aliens.”
“We’re shooting 10 one-hour episodes, beginning the week after Thanksgiving, when principal photography starts,” said Gary Auerbach, who is the series’ executive producer. “We’ve started writing the stories and hiring people. We lucked out because we’re shooting during the holidays, when some people don’t have work but want to have extra money.”
“Monsters & Aliens” is a documentary series about the cryptids — those elusive animals or beings whose existence science can’t substantiate, Auerbach said.
“It’s still scientific, but it’s about all those kinds of great tales and myths,” he said. “If you think about the shows that are on the History Channel or A&E, the closest thing would be ‘Ancient Aliens’ or something like that.”
Auerbach has experience with similar and award-winning shows he made with Top Dead Center Films and his former company, Go Go Luckey Entertainment.
Those productions include “Paranormal State,” “Hangar 1: The UFO Files,” “American Haunting” and the “Exorcist Files,” to name a few.
The company is also behind the groundbreaking “Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County.”
“We’ve done quite a few shows in my history around the same subjects, so we’re kind of experts about the topic,” he said.
One of the things that stuck out in Auerbach’s mind is the connection between cryptids and unidentified flying objects.
“A lot of times when there is a cryptid sighting, there is a UFO sighting close by,” he said. “So, this series asks the question, ‘What if aliens and cryptids are the same thing?’”
The plan is to address this issue through expert interviews and re-creations, Auerbach said.
“We look at both sides and try to present it as factual and fair and even as possible because there are some people who believe it and some who don’t,” he said. “So, with this series, you will get factual information about cryptids and monsters in a fun way.”
Crews are currently preparing to film expert interviews, Auerbach said.
“We’re starting off by shooting all the experts, the people who are well known in the cryptid and zoological space,” he said. “Then we’ll do re-creations in January, after the holidays. We’re writing those now, and we’ll block-shoot them.”
Block shooting means filming scenes with similar settings in one location, said Auerbach, whose daughter, Lucia, was a Park Record intern from 2020 to 2021.
“We’ll spend time in woods or an empty field or on stage,” he said. “We don’t have exact locations, yet, but we’re looking to take a day or two Salt Lake and Tooele.”
Top Dead Center Film partnered with Indigo Pictures, a company in the U.K. for the series.
“What’s happening now is it’s harder and harder to sell these kinds of shows directly to cable networks and streamers because there are a lot of them,” he said. “(With this partnership) the strategy now is putting together ideas that could sell worldwide. Over the last year or two, I’ve been pitching these ideas to different companies internationally, hoping we could make them here for a lower budget. When we get done with them, we’ll go and sell them globally.”
“Monsters & Aliens” is one of a batch of projects the Utah Board of Tourism Development approved for state film incentives, according to a Utah Film Commission press release.
The incentives will generate “an estimated economic impact of $15.6 million and over 300 new jobs filming in Salt Lake, Summit, Utah, Washington, Wayne and Weber counties,” according to the release.
The program “Monsters & Aliens” qualified for was the motion picture incentive program (MPIP,) which is managed by the Utah Film Commission and available for narrative, documentary and episodic series intended to be distributed commercially, Auerbach said.
“So for people who are local, producers will get a cash rebate of 20% of our expenses spent in Utah,” he said. “So, what we get depends on what I end up spending, and since the rebate comes back in cash, we can put it back into the production.”
The “Monsters & Aliens” crew and cast will be 95% Utahns, Auerbach said.
“People here are really hardworking and know their stuff, and it’s not just me who thinks that,” he said. “They are really into the art of filmmaking. They enjoy working, and they get along. I was down in Laguna Beach for a ‘Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County’ series reunion, and friends who have shot up here told me that the crews in Utah are really great.”
While Auerbach is overseeing the project, he is content to be listed as executive producer.
“I like saving the other credits — director, producer, director of photography — for the people who we hire for those jobs,” he said.
The community film incentive also helps Auerbach give people on his crew to advance their careers.
“If they were an art person, maybe they could become a production designer,” he said. “Or if they were assistant camera, maybe they could become director of photography. We really try to take that to heart and lift them up credit wise.”
Auerbach also wants to work with those who are just starting their careers in the film industry.
“I asked the Film Commission to give me contacts of colleges around here that have film departments, and I’m letting them know we’re hiring people who are learning how to do this stuff. I think it’s nice to have relationships with schools, especially schools who are teaching students how this all works, because I think it’s good to give people roles in film production as they learn more. I’m sending the emails today, so hopefully they will reply.”
Auerbach is grateful for the Film Commission’s support of local productions.
“They’re amazing,” he said. “They have been so good to us and everybody in the community.”
That’s important to Auerbach because the film industry is changing.
“The movies will stay strong here in Utah because it’s a great place to film them,” he said. “But I think the thing that’s growing in the entertainment space is digital-type shows — documentary series and vertical dramas (that are ideal to watch on mobile phones).”
Auerbach’s plan is to create more, similar productions for less money.
“For us, that means we have to shoot a lot to make any money, because we have to stay busy enough so we can create a company atmosphere where we can hire people full time,” he said. “We’re always pushing to be a more steady influence in Utah. With these lower-budget things, that might come to fruition. This is one of the first ones in our docket, so we’re excited.”
“Monsters & Aliens” will premiere in March 2026 on Hearst Networks EMEA, formerly A+E Networks EMEA, in the U.K. and later in the United States.
For information about Top Dead Center Films, visit, topdeadcenterfilms.com.
For information about the Utah Film Commission, visit, film.utah.gov.