Animal Planet’s ratings are continuing to rise and the network has big plans to increase its schedule of original programming as a result of the increase in viewership. 2012 was a huge year for the network as it entered the Top 20 cable network race, and 2013 is showing no signs of slowing down. Plans are now underway for a bunch of new series to be added to Animal Planet‘s lineup in 2013 or 2014.
Marjorie Kaplan, president and general manager of Animal Planet, says, “We all want to feel wild from time to time. Our surprisingly human characters and the rich stories to be told at the intersection of human and wild strike a nerve and make for big entertainment.”
2013-2014 New Animal Planet Shows:
ALASKA BUSH FAMILY
Deep in Alaska’s wilderness, Billy and Ami Brown, along with their seven children, thrive by living off the grid alongside some of the world’s most dangerous animals while they endure the harsh climate and challenging terrain. In ALASKA BUSH FAMILY, viewers get an inside look at the Browns’ unorthodox way of life and discover how they survive in such a remote and often life-threatening environment but wouldn’t live any other way.
ANIMAL BFFs [working title]
ANIMAL BFFs tells the irresistible stories of odd couples from the animal kingdom. They say opposites attract, and there’s nothing cuter than the moment when friends from different species meet for the first time. Each tale begins with the story of how these creatures met and follows them on a journey that reveals surprising truths about their unusual friendships. Whether these fuzzy pals are taking their first trips across the yard or conspiring to steal food from the kitchen together, ANIMAL BFFs‘ tongue-in-cheek narration brings out the drama, comedy and occasional romantic connections that occur along the way.
CATCH AND RELEASE [working title]
Unprepared and left to fend for yourself, what would you do if you were captured, blindfolded and taken to a remote location? In CATCH AND RELEASE, five of the world’s most elite, thrill-seeking survivalists come together to do just that: playing a “game” that puts their skills to the ultimate test. Each survivalist has a different background: there’s a Green Beret, a former Navy SEAL, two survival-school instructors, and a primitive-skills expert. Each is captured one at a time by the other four, is dropped in one of the world’s harshest environments and has a maximum of 100 hours to find his way back to civilization, alive and unscathed, or he loses the game.
It’s man against nature (and his four best friends) as each action-packed, dramatic episode of CATCH AND RELEASE crisscrosses the globe – from dense jungles to frigid glaciers – to match wits in this game of survival. And with reputations and bragging rights on the line, do these guys have what it takes to survive the ultimate challenge?
CLIPPED! [working title]
Whether it’s a lion, tiger or bear, no grooming design is too crazy for dog groomer extraordinaire Angela Kumpe. The Arkansas groomer specializes in outrageous transformations, and her “my-way-or-the-highway” attitude combined with her amazing skill has all of the South talking and her ornery employees squabbling. Kumpe lets her imagination run wild to fulfill the requests of her demanding clients who have very colorful imaginations. No request is too outrageous, but things can get crazy when Fido enters the shop as an ordinary dog and comes out looking like a bumblebee!
EEL OF FORTUNE [working title]
Animal Planet has found its next big catch. This time, it’s the not the size that matters. This new series follows teams of New England fishermen as they search for the elusive elver eel, a lucrative fish that is a delicacy across many Asian countries. The price of elver eels, once at $50 per pound, has skyrocketed to an unprecedented $2,600 per pound with the industry earning more than $40 million during the 2012 season. Elver eels, which look almost like cellophane noodles, may be tiny, but they can bring a potential windfall to those few lucky fishermen who can obtain an eel-fishing permit in Maine.
Now, the second leading industry in Maine behind lobstering, EEL OF FORTUNE captures the outrageous adrenaline rush and sleepless nights of the eelers who have a “golden ticket” as they embark on their daily journey to capture as many elver eels as they can. But the competition to catch these slippery fish is fierce. With only 400 men and women able to obtain a license, the most passionate and determined fishermen must fight against one another for the hottest fishing spots.
ICE COLD GOLD
Animal Planet’s ICE COLD GOLD spotlights a spirited team of miners who are among the first Americans to prospect for precious metals and gems in parts of Greenland where humans never have set foot before. The six-part series follows eight men who leave behind their families, friends and homeland to strike it rich against all odds while they struggle to survive against the harshest of conditions. Greenland’s a veritable beast, but the motley crew of ICE COLD GOLD miners is up for the challenge. Each thinks he has what it takes to walk away with gold, rubies and sapphires before winter and large mining companies swoop in. What transpires as the miners cope with the unpredictable, harsh unknown? Are they humbled by their journey? Do their personalities get in the way? Most importantly, do they strike ICE COLD GOLD?
MY TINY TERROR [working title]
In MY TINY TERROR, Animal Planet’s small dog trainer travels the country and trains some of the naughtiest and tiniest dogs. While these teacup pups may look sweet, they’re causing mayhem in their owners’ homes. From incessant yapping at strangers to ankle bites that end with hospitalization, our expert has seen it all. He helps families on the verge of giving up these small nightmares and restores harmony to these homes.
POLAR BEAR CROSSING [working title]
It takes a special type of person to live with bears, and the townspeople of Churchill in Manitoba, Canada live with thousands of polar bears year round. In POLAR BEAR CROSSING, the residents of Churchill have chosen to accept these unpredictable creatures as their aggressive neighbors, but their lives are shaped by the “tides” of the migrating bears. Knowing danger could be lurking around the corner, the residents of Churchill are outnumbered two to one by polar bears, so they’ve learned to co-exist with them by braving frequent attacks and living their lives.
TOP HOOKER
TOP HOOKER is an in-your-face, full-throttle competition series that pits 10 expert fishermen against one another in a series of wild, never-before-seen fishing challenges. Unlikely competitors from a fearless harpoon gun-wielding woman to a South-African bodybuilder, the contestants struggle through countless off-the-hook challenges with the hope of being crowned TOP HOOKER and winning the $30,000 bounty! It’s a nautical game of catch and release. Who can catch a spot in the next round – and who’s going to be thrown back home?
TREEHOUSE MASTERS
Beginning May 31, TREEHOUSE MASTERS has viewers climbing to a majestic world up in the treetops with visionary and tree whisperer Pete Nelson as he designs private escapes for those with a passion to reconnect with nature and awaken their inner child. Designing multi-bedroom dream tree houses complete with functional plumbing and electricity to simple, one-room lofts, Pete goes out on a limb to create breathtaking realities for a host of clientele. However, creating these fantasy arboreal homes doesn’t come easy. Pete and his team of designers and carpenters, including son Charlie, must endure Mother Nature’s shifty antics, dangerous construction equipment and dizzy heights in order to build these sanctuaries.
In addition to building these hideaways, Pete, along with his wife, Judy, and daughter, Emily, own and operate TreeHouse Point, a bed and breakfast in Washington, to where people can escape their modern-day realities. In TREEHOUSE MASTERS, Pete brings people closer to nature one tree at a time.
UNDERWORLD [working title]
Expert cave diver Curt Bowen and his team of intrepid explorers are on a deadly quest to explore and find the answers to history’s buried secrets that are submerged in underwater caves across the globe. But finding the answers could cost them their lives. The truth they seek is deep underground in a haunting, alien landscape few humans ever have seen. Traveling to the farthest corners of the globe and following a trail of evidence that leads them ever deeper into the silent, deadly world that lies below, Curt and his team risk it all beneath the Earth’s surface. The beauty they encounter is matched only by the danger they must face as they journey into the UNDERWORLD.
