7 things we learned from The Lowe Files trailer

Rob Lowe introduces the world to his sons and his love for all things spooky in the new trailer for The Lowe Files.

I didn’t know I needed a show about Rob Lowe and his adult sons traversing the American countryside in search of ghosts and aliens and wood apes (which are a thing, apparently).

But after watching the just-released A&E trailer for The Lowe Files, turns out, I do.

Check it out below:

Here are seven things I was able to glean from the semi-spooky sneak peek:

Rob Lowe doesn’t age

In case Lowe’s stints on Parks and Rec, or The Grinder, or as one of Colonel Sanders’ many faces didn’t tip you off, the allegedly 53-year-old still looks like the fresh-faced teen he played in The Outsiders in 1983. In fact, the new trailer even shows us a precious photo of Lowe as a little boy, and, surprise surprise: he looks the exact same. If the guy is curious about witchcraft and the supernatural, might we suggest his first investigation be into his own face?

The Lowe family probably went on better childhood road trips than you

The trailer explains Lowe and his two sons, Matthew and John Owen, have been interested in paranormal stuff since their respective childhoods. Archival footage shows what looks like some super fun road trips with the boys when they were young in search of Bigfoot (which Lowe told Entertainment Weekly should actually be referred to as a “wood ape”) and ghosts. And I’m retroactively jealous my family never came across any restless spirits trucking our way to the Grand Canyon.

David Duchovny could have some paranormal-seeking competition

Other media outlets have been a little judgy about the prospect of this series for my tastes. Sure, Chris Traeger isn’t necessarily the first person that comes to mind when you think about who might be a good guide into the paranormal world. But Lowe’s lower-key real-life enthusiasm for the subject matter shines through in his narration. And if he’s half as into this stuff as he seems to be, count me in. The truth is out there, Rob. Mulder, Scully and the Fox network say so.

Blue Oyster Cult makes everything better

The choice of “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper” to take the trailer from wistful exposition to gripping action sequence was wise. Both because it evokes a creepy (i.e. Grim Reaper) yet playful vibe, which seems to be what they’re going for (see below), and because it always makes me think of Will Ferrell. And cowbells.

They’re going for creepy, but still fun

As Lowe told EW, he’s genuinely interested in finding out more about this kind of stuff, but he’s also skeptical:

"We have fun with all of this. We hit the bullseye between true believer and skeptic in a fun way. [The locals] talk to you about the wood ape in all seriousness. If you call it a Bigfoot or a Sasquatch, they roll their eyes… as if that makes it less outrageous. I don’t want to set up something we don’t deliver on all the time, because if everybody could go out and get great results on all of this, these stories and mysteries would all be solved. Some episodes we had incredible results, and others we just had incredible adventures, and that’s what’s great about it."

Between the wide-eyed, Blair Witch-style fear shots and the goofy clips of the guys laughing, the trailer seems to suggest the same mentality.

Rob Lowe gets shirtless in some kind of fire ritual

That pretty much covers it.

Rob Lowe still loves the walk-and-talk

Harkening back to the glorious days when Rob Lowe was The West Wing‘s Sam Seaborn, the trailer makes it look like this could be the actor’s triumphant return to the Sorkinian walk-and-talk. How else do we expect the Lowes to tell us what’s happening as they’re running from monsters?

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The Lowe Files debuts Aug. 2 at 10 p.m. ET.