Johnson wrote the premiere script after developing the story with Grazer and both are executive producers of the new television series.

Johnson is best known as creator and executive producer of two successful television series, "The Bionic Woman" and "The Incredible Hulk." More recently, he wrote, directed and served as executive producer of the original "V" miniseries and the series "Hot Pursuit."

Grazer has produced two hit feature films in recent years, "Splash" and "Night Shift" and received an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay for "Splash."

In "Shadow Chasers", Eve stars as Jonathan MacKensie, a professor of anthropology at the Georgetown Institute of Science. In the two-hour premiere episode, MacKensie's superior, Dr. Moorhouse, played by Foch, dispatches him to a small town to investigate a series of apparently supernatural happenings. He reluctantly agrees and unwittingly ends up being paired with his diametric opposite, freelance writer Edgar Benedek, portrayed by Dugan.

Jonathan is an academic and approaches his profession in a bookish manner. Conversely, "Benny" is flamboyant and unconventional and sometimes uses questionable means. But in the course of the investigation, they realize the attributes each has to offer and become willing partners in future cases.

Eve is a British stage and television star who is making his American television debut. His U.S. production credits include the recent Hallmark Hall of Fame show "The Corsican Brothers" in which he played the dual roles of Lucien and Louis da Franchi. Prior to that, he played magazine owner Tom Schwartz in the miniseries "Lace." In England, he reached star status with the success of the TV series "Shoestring" in which he played a private detective. In 1981 he received the Actor of the Year Award from the Society of the West End Theatres for his role in the play "Children of a Lesser God."

Dugan has starred in two television series "Richie Brockelman, Private Eye" and "Empire." He also played the memorable role of Captain Freedom during a featured stint on "Hill Street Blues."

Foch, besides a working actress, is one of Hollywood's better-known drama coaches. In her varied career, she has starred in several Broadway plays, hundreds of television programs and more than 40 feature films, which include the memorable "An American in Paris" and "The Ten Commandments." In 1980, Miss Foch received an Emmy nomination for her portrayal of a fragile Hollywood recluse in an episode of the "Lou Grant" series. In 1975, she founded the Nina Foch Studio where she conducts private and advanced acting classes and also coaches and holds consultation for trial lawyers, corporate executives and government officials.

Craig Schiller is producer of the series and Renee and Harry Longstreet serve as supervising producers. Schiller was producer of "The Bionic Woman" and "Salvage I" and was producer/director of the television series "You Asked For It." The Longstreets most recently were supervising producers of "Hot Pursuit." Their other credits include producers of "Voyagers" and "Trauma Center." Among their writing credits are the television movies "The Sky's No Limit," "The Promise of Love" and "The Gathering, Part II."

"Shadow Chasers" is a Kenneth Johnson-Brian Grazer Production in association with Warner Bros. Television.

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Editors Note: "Shadow Chasers" premieres with a special two-hour episode, Thursday, November 14, 8 p.m. ET/PT; 7 p.m. CT and will follow with weekly hour-long episodes each Thursday night thereafter.

Grazer says the new series starring Trevor Eve, Dennis Dugan and Nina Foch will not be about the supernatural, but will be a comedic adventure into the strange and unexplained.

"We promise the viewers a lot of fun," says Grazer.

"We know we're up against some strong competition and that the "Bill Cosby Show" is a phenomenon in itself and there are still loyal viewers to "Magnum, P.I.," but we think we're offering the viewers something entirely different and are hoping enough of them will like our change of pace.

"We hope to excite, even sometimes scare in our pursuit of giving viewers some humorous and thoughtful moments."

-WB-TV-

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According to Kenneth Johnson, executive producer of "Shadow Chasers," a new hour-long ABC-TV series from Warner Bros. Television which delves into the mysterious — "shadowy" subject matter which has plagued and beguiled humanity throughout history — "people enjoy the half-step beyond what they know to be real."

Johnson says, "most everyone has had one baffling paranormal experience happen to him or her, but is afraid to touch upon it. 'Shadow Chasers' gives the public a forum in which to view the universal experiences we have all had."

Dr. Thelma Moss, clinical psychologist and parapsychologist who serves as consultant to the series, says that "some of the paranormal phenomena reside solely in the realm of superstition and offer little opportunity for serious inquiry. However, certain phenomena, which 'Shadow Chasers' deals with, are the subject of legitimate scientific investigation. The science of 'parapsychology' has been recognized by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the largest professional body of American scientists.

In each of the "Shadow Chasers" episodes, Moss says, the themes deal with what people accept in parapsychology as "normal" psychic phenomena, such as precognition (the perception of future events) and telepathy (the transfer of thought from one person to another via unknown channels).

In the premiere episode, poltergeist or "ghostly" activities occurs in a house that is said to be haunted. The house suddenly shakes, objects fly frantically about the place and walls burst into blistering flames, leaving scorch marks on nearby neighbors' homes. An eerie feeling filters through the body of the lone child standing in the middle of the living room as wild winds whirl about him and statues of dead souls topple to the ground.

Professor Jonathan MacKensie and freelance writer Edgar Benedek (Benny), played by series stars Trevor Eve and Dennis Dugan, are dispatched to investigate the series of apparently supernatural happenings.

Many paranormal themes are explored in this episode, according to Dr. Moss. One is mediumship, whereby spirits of the dead are called upon by the living. Another is telekinesis, the large-scale movement of objects. Poltergeist activities are also put into play since the supposed "ghost" is manifesting itself through noises and rappings. Often times children are the mediums through whom spirits are called when poltergeists are involved, and still other answers may be found which aren't paranormal at all.

A "near-death" experience is looked at in another episode, entitled "Amazing Grace." Benny is dead and he is suddenly brought back to life. During his "death," Benny's conscience is located apart from his body. He, like many others who have experienced near-death, recalls coming up out of his body and viewing activity in other rooms by walking through walls and observing some secret, strange and deadly goings-on in the hospital.

According to Dr. Moss: "We as humans are composed of several bodies. One is the physical body which is very dense and can only traverse the ground. When a person is 'out of body,' a term which has literary references going back to the Bible, he is no longer in his physical body, it is inert, catatonic.

In the '60s, during the psychedelic explosion when many people were taking LSD," Moss adds, "they would often be strewn across a bed, but able to describe looking down on a person  in another room from a position on the ceiling. They would describe in detail what the other person was doing. The person being visited would see no one."

Speculation of what life after death would be like is dealt with in the "Middle of Somewhere" episode. After Benny and Jonathan are in a plane crash, they find themselves awakened in a room with stark white walls lying naked under white sheets on a cold hospital table. The two are met with historical figures — a singing Elvis Presley and the Three Musketeers among others — and are convinced they have died and gone to heaven. "Shadow Chasers" has its basis in fact, but doesn't pretend to have an scientific credence," says Johnson and co-creator Brian Grazer. "We use interesting phenomena to create entertaining, suspenseful drama, and, at the same time, provide relevant information."

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His triple duties come as no surprise to those familiar with his work. Johnson filled the identical roles for the original "V" miniseries and for the pilot episode of "Hot Pursuit." Prior to that, he created and was executive producer of "The Incredible Hulk" and "The Bionic Woman."

Ken entered the industry at 21, when WPIX, and independent New York TV station, hired him as a producer/director after viewing a 25-minute film which he had written, produced, directed, edited and scored while attending Carnegie Tech in Pennsylvania. He later became associate producer/director of "The Mike Douglas Show."

He moved on to episodic television in the 1970s when he wrote several episodes of "Adam-12." Following that series, he was asked to write a script for "The Six Million Dollar Man" and, in the process, created the character of the bionic woman. He later became producer of "The Six Million Dollar Man" and "The Bionic Woman" and held that position when both shows were in the top five in the ratings.

In addition to series work, Johnson produced and directed two specials for ABC-TV — "Alan King in Las Vegas" and was creator, writer and production executive for "Salem." He also wrote and produced two TV movies: "Death in the Family" and "Senior Trip."

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