HISTORY® BRINGS BACK THE LAST AMERICAN PIONEERS WHO THRIVE IN THE LOUISIANA WILDERNESS
SWAMP PEOPLE
SEASON 2 PREMIERES THURSDAY, MARCH 31st, 9PM ET/PT
New York, NY, March, 2011 – Welcome back! To the Atchafalaya Swamp, America’s Last Frontier. History announces Season 2 of SWAMP PEOPLE. The second season will premiere on Thursday, March 31, 9PM ET/PT.
The Season 1 series premiere of SWAMP PEOPLE set a record as History’s best-ever original series launch in all key demos with 4.2 million Total Viewers. As well, SWAMP PEOPLE was the #2 new non-fiction series in 2010 on cable among A25-54 and A18-49, behind only Historys’ very own American Pickers. Overall Season 1 of SWAMP PEOPLE averaged 3.1 million total viewers; 1.7 million Adults 25-54; 1.6 million Adults 18-49; 1.1 million Men 25-54: 1.0 million Men 18-49 M18-49; and 3.1 million total viewers.
Deep in southern Louisiana there are nearly 1 million acres of flooded forest, marshland and bayous unlike anyplace else in the United States. It’s a hidden world, a place where nature still rules – one of the least known territories in the United States. But a hardy breed of “Swamp People” knows the secrets of this dangerous mysterious territory. Most are Cajun descendants of French-speaking settlers who came from Canada in the 1700s – and their way of life has been fundamentally the same for generations. Hunting, especially alligator hunting, remains a major source of their livelihood.
SWAMP PEOPLE explores and celebrates a unique culture far removed from the mainstream of contemporary America. This is a united community that fends for itself and makes a living any way they can in an unpredictable environment. The families of SWAMP PEOPLE battle Father Time, Mother Nature and the challenges of life in and around the murky waters of the Atchafalaya Swamp. They are America’s forgotten pioneers.
Season Two of SWAMP PEOPLE follows these intrepid hunters and family men as they head out in pursuit of these most powerful beasts during the 30-day alligator hunting season, regulated by the state of Louisiana.
SWAMP PEOPLE SEASON 2:
- Troy Landry – Troy works with his son Jacob and Jacob’s friend Clint Landry. Troy is the quintessential Cajun swamp man with the quintessential Cajun accent – he makes his living as a hunter and fisher. When he’s not working, he has houseboat for cookouts and parties for his families and friends.
- Junior Edwards and his son William – Junior & William live off the swamp, spend their day out on the water year-round, crawfishing, hunting deer and crabbing.
- Joe LaFont and stepson Tommy Chauvin – known as “Trapper Joe” and “Lil Trapper” they are serious about alligator trapping, as well as nutria, muskrats & shrimp.
- R.J. Molinere Jr. is a powerful man, in body and in spirit – and a champion arm wrestler! He is a Native American and a member of the United Houma nation. Since he was old enough to pole a boat through the marsh, R.J. has been making a living off the land—the same way his ancestors have done for thousands of years.
- Liz Cavalier is a rare breed—after all, there aren’t many Cajun lady gator hunters on the swamp. Liz has been hunting gator since she was a little girl. Her father taught her the ways of the hunt, and how to live off the land. Her dad is gone now, and for Liz, she feels closest to him when she’s out on the swamp fishing for gator.
- Brothers Glenn and Mitchell Guist were born, raised, and still live in the same house their grandparents once occupied on Conway Bayou. Guist brothers march to their own drummer—a backwoods duo who hunt, trap and fish to eat. If the fish in Conway Bayou aren’t biting, then “squirrel and dumplings” might be on the menu. Today, Glenn and Mitchell are a dying breed.
- Terral Evans stands 6’4” and weighs in at around 240 pounds. Terral is a Louisiana Man in every way—a man who loves the Honey Island Swamp he calls home and reaps its bounty every day. While the other swampers in Louisiana are busy hunting gators, Terral is busy moving them. Terral is a nuisance gator hunter licensed by the state of Louisiana to relocate gators that present a danger to people. If a gator is causing problems in the Honey Island Swamp, everyone around knows to call Terral. He does his work at night, snatching the rogue gators barehanded, right out of the water. Once captured, Terral relocates these problem gators deep into the swamp to keep the locals safe.
- Bruce Mitchell – Bruce runs the Kliebert Turtle & Alligator Farm. He’s been living on the farm compound for roughly 25 years. In addition to raising reptiles, Bruce hunts and processes wild gators, selling the meat and other parts to various customers. His goal is to waste nothing and remain self-sufficient at all times.
SWAMP PEOPLE is the story of the American spirit, of the lost art of doing things the right way and of the unyielding desire to preserve a dying way of life from the encroaching modern world.
SWAMP PEOPLE is produced by Original Media for HISTORY. Executive Producers are Jay Peterson and Charlie Corwin and Brian Catalina is co-Executive Producer. Executive Producers for HISTORY are David McKillop and Mary Donahue.