Jessica Chobot has built an unusual career by combining gaming, pop culture, paranormal research and television presenting. Long before she began investigating haunted locations for Discovery Channel, Chobot was familiar to gaming audiences through her work at IGN, where she hosted programmes including IGN Strategize and The Daily Fix. She later became one of the leading personalities at Nerdist, hosting entertainment and pop-culture shows while developing a growing interest in supernatural subjects.
That interest eventually became a major part of her career. Through podcasts, television investigations and writing projects, Chobot established herself as a presenter willing to explore strange history, alleged paranormal activity and mysteries that do not always have easy answers.
Jessica Chobot joined Expedition X in 2020
Chobot’s biggest television opportunity arrived when she joined Discovery Channel’s Expedition X. The paranormal investigation series premiered on 12 February 2020 as a spin-off connected to Josh Gates’ successful Expedition Unknown franchise.
Chobot appeared alongside scientist and explorer Phil Torres, while Gates introduced the cases and directed the team towards reports involving ghosts, mysterious creatures, UFO sightings and unexplained phenomena. Chobot generally represented the paranormal-investigation side of the partnership, while Torres approached the evidence from a more scientific and sceptical perspective.
Their contrasting personalities became one of the show’s strongest features. Chobot was open to unusual possibilities but was also willing to question witnesses and investigate alternative explanations. Her reactions, humour and chemistry with Torres helped make her a fan favourite during the show’s first seven seasons.
Why did Jessica Chobot leave Expedition X?
Viewers were surprised when promotional material for Season 8 revealed that Chobot was no longer part of the programme. She did not return when the season premiered in August 2024 and was replaced in the field team by Heather Amaro.
Chobot initially told followers that she was working on something new with Discovery and was excited to share the project. That announcement led many people to assume she had voluntarily left Expedition X specifically to launch her own show.
Her later comments suggested the situation was more complicated. During a podcast interview, Chobot said she believed it was time to move on and referred to circumstances that made her feel she needed to step away. She also spoke warmly about the production crew and admitted that she genuinely missed working with them.
Chobot did not publicly provide a complete account of what happened behind the scenes. Her comments indicated that the new Discovery project may have come together after her departure rather than being the sole reason she left. Therefore, claims that she was fired, pushed out following a feud or left because of a particular co-star remain unconfirmed speculation.
Jessica Chobot’s New Show
After leaving Expedition X, Chobot began teasing a mysterious production involving outdoor filming, investigation equipment and locations in California. That project was eventually revealed as Bigfoot Took Her, a three-part Discovery limited series.
The programme followed Chobot and former LAPD investigator Robert Collier as they re-examined the disappearance of 16-year-old Theresa Ann Bier. Bier vanished during a camping trip in California’s Sierra National Forest in 1987. The man who had accompanied her claimed that Bigfoot had taken her, creating one of the strangest explanations ever associated with an American missing-person case.
Rather than accepting that story, Chobot and Collier examined witness accounts, law-enforcement records and possible human explanations for Bier’s disappearance. The project allowed Chobot to combine her interest in unexplained phenomena with a more traditional true-crime investigation.
All three episodes premiered consecutively on Discovery Channel on 29 October 2025. Although the series was promoted around the sensational Bigfoot claim, its central purpose was to redirect attention towards Bier and the unresolved questions surrounding her case.
Was Bigfoot Took Her cancelled?
Bigfoot Took Her has now completed its television run, but describing it as cancelled would be misleading. Discovery ordered and promoted it from the beginning as a three-part limited series, not as an ongoing weekly programme.
The three episodes covered the planned investigation and were broadcast together as a television event. As of July 2026, Discovery has not announced a second season, another case or a follow-up special featuring Chobot and Collier.
This means the show should currently be considered completed rather than abruptly cancelled. A future continuation is always possible, particularly if Discovery believes Chobot could lead similar investigations, but no new television project has been officially confirmed.
Chobot is concentrating on Occulture Shock
Chobot’s most active current project is the Occulture Shock Podcast, which examines paranormal history, occult traditions, fringe science, mysterious objects and unusual connections between mythology and popular culture.
The podcast gives her considerably more creative control than a network television production. Recent subjects have included allegedly haunted objects, the occult interests of famous writers and artists, lost historical documents and unusual attempts to communicate with the spirit world.
The programme continues to release new material, with additional benefits and early access offered through its membership platform. Chobot’s current public profile identifies her as a creator, television host, podcaster, gamer and writer, while prominently promoting Occulture Shock and its regular episodes.
She has also revived her Firebrand comic
Television and podcasting are not Chobot’s only creative interests. She co-wrote the supernatural comic Firebrand: The Initiation of Natali Presano with Erika Lewis, with artwork by Claudia Aguirre.
The story, originally released through Webtoon between 2016 and 2019, follows a young woman caught between modern life, witchcraft and an ancient supernatural threat. The series reportedly attracted around five million views and more than 165,000 followers.
In 2026, Chobot and the creative team partnered with Legendary Comics and Rocketship Entertainment for a campaign collecting the full story in a deluxe 350-page hardcover edition. The Kickstarter successfully reached its funding goal in July, giving the older series a new physical release and introducing it to another generation of readers.
Although Chobot and Lewis have discussed having more ideas for the characters, an entirely new continuation has not yet been officially commissioned.
More paranormal appearances are ahead
Chobot is also scheduled to appear at ParanormaCruise: Halloween at Sea, a week-long paranormal-themed event beginning in October 2026. She is being promoted alongside fellow paranormal personalities Katrina Weidman and Ronny LeBlanc.
The event is expected to include discussions, presentations, themed activities and opportunities for fans to meet the featured investigators. It reflects Chobot’s continued connection to the paranormal community even while she is not hosting a regular Discovery series.
What is Jessica Chobot doing now?
Jessica Chobot has not retired from television or paranormal investigation. However, she is currently working more independently than she did during her seven seasons on Expedition X.
Her Discovery limited series Bigfoot Took Her has completed its planned three-episode run, with no second season announced. Her main ongoing focus is now Occulture Shock, alongside the successful return of her Firebrand comic and scheduled appearances at paranormal events.
Another television programme could still be announced, but for now, Chobot appears to be building a career in which she has greater control over the subjects she investigates and the stories she chooses to tell.
