Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi is best known for her larger-than-life personality on Jersey Shore, but her latest television adventure takes her far from the beach and into some of Canada’s reportedly most haunted locations.
In Snooki: The Paranormal Rookie, the reality television personality explores the supernatural alongside a team of experienced investigators, including Canadian psychic medium Kevin Whitaker and occult expert and historian Missy Morrow.
We spoke with Whitaker and Morrow about the show.
For Whitaker, joining the series was a natural extension of work he has been doing for decades.
Morrow brings a different perspective to the group.
Alongside her interest in witchcraft and the occult, she is passionate about historical research and collecting unusual objects and stories.
She also works as a fashion designer and seamstress, creating costumes for drag performers, burlesque artists and other stage performers.
(language warning)
The series follows Polizzi as she learns the ropes of paranormal investigation, bringing her curiosity and belief in the supernatural to historic buildings and other locations with eerie reputations.
With Whitaker’s experience, Morrow’s historical knowledge, and tech specialist Todd Thomas’s investigative equipment, the team sets out to explore the stories and unexplained experiences connected to each site.
The series is built around a side of Polizzi that audiences may not know as well as her Jersey Shore persona.
According to Whitaker and Morrow, her interest in the paranormal is genuine, and bringing that passion to television was a project that took time.
Although Whitaker and Morrow both had some television experience before joining the series, they said working with Polizzi has introduced their work to a much broader audience.
Whitaker said his previous television appearances had given him a comfortable level of exposure, but Polizzi’s involvement has taken that to another level.
He noted that while doing an investigation, Snooki happened to post a photo of him on Instagram.
It only took a few hours, and a trip into town to get Morrow a toothbrush that she forgot to pack, to see how big of an audience the Jersey Shore star has.
He sees the series as an opportunity to introduce more people to the work he, Morrow and Thomas do, while reaching viewers who might not otherwise seek out paranormal investigations.
Whether audiences are drawn by the history of the buildings, the investigators’ different approaches, or the prospect of seeing Snooki outside her usual television setting, the series offers a new look at Canada’s haunted lore.
Snooki: The Paranormal Rookie is available on Crave.
Written by: Matt LeBlanc
