Moonshiners (TV series)

Last updated

Moonshiners
MoonshinersLogo.jpg
Logo
Genre Docudrama
Narrated byJeremy Schwartz
Country of originUnited States
No. of seasons12
No. of episodes262 (list of episodes)
Production
Running time60 minutes
Original release
Network Discovery Channel
ReleaseDecember 6, 2011 (2011-12-06) 
present
Related

Moonshiners is an American docudrama television series on the Discovery Channel produced by Magilla Entertainment that dramatizes the life of people who produce (illegal) moonshine in the Appalachian Mountains of Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. The series dramatizes their liquor production efforts, law-evading techniques and life. [1] There have been claims by local officials that the show is not what it portrays itself to be. Virginia authorities have stated that no illegal liquor is actually being produced by the people depicted in the show. The Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) said in March 2012 that, "If illegal activity was actually taking place, the Virginia ABC Bureau of Law Enforcement would have taken action." [2] They also said that they had requested for the producers to add a disclaimer to clarify that the show was only a dramatization, "but the request was overlooked", [2] and the show's producers, Magilla Entertainment, have stated their documentary content is real. [3]

Contents

Portions of the show that feature Marvin "Popcorn" Sutton were taken from a documentary film by Neal Hutcheson. Hutcheson's documentary was filmed in 2002 and released the same year with the title This is the Last Dam Run of Likker I'll Ever Make. [4] In 2008, a version of the documentary that was edited for television was broadcast on PBS [ citation needed ] and the Documentary Channel [5] with the title The Last One, and it received a Southeast Emmy Award in 2009. [6] Sutton was arrested in 2007 by ATF agents in Cocke County, Tennessee (led by Jim Cavanaugh of Waco siege fame) for illegally distilling liquor and possession of a handgun by a felon, and was sentenced to eighteen months in jail in 2009. He subsequently died by suicide, apparently to avoid serving the federal prison term. [7]

The show's first season premiered on December 6, 2011.

The twelfth season premiered on November 9, 2022, [8] with a preseason special airing on November 2, 2022.

Series overview

SeasonEpisodesSpecialsOriginally airedAverage rating
(millions)
First airedLast aired
1 61December 6, 2011 (2011-12-06)January 4, 2012 (2012-01-04)2.76
2 123November 7, 2012 (2012-11-07)January 30, 2013 (2013-01-30)3.03
3 137November 5, 2013 (2013-11-05)February 4, 2014 (2014-02-04)2.53
4 1410November 4, 2014 (2014-11-04)February 3, 2015 (2015-02-03)2.00
5 171November 17, 2015 (2015-11-17)March 8, 2016 (2016-03-08)1.85
6 175November 15, 2016 (2016-11-15)March 14, 2017 (2017-03-14)TBA
7 1812November 15, 2017 (2017-11-15)March 27, 2018 (2018-03-27)1.59
8 1810December 11, 2018 (2018-12-11)July 9, 2019 (2019-07-09)TBA
9 174November 19, 2019 (2019-11-19)May 9, 2020 (2020-05-09)TBA
10 207November 23, 2020 (2020-11-23)April 13, 2021 (2021-04-13)TBA
11 212October 20, 2021 (2021-10-20)March 30, 2022 (2022-03-30)TBA
12 205November 2, 2022 (2022-11-02)April 10, 2023 (2023-04-10)TBA
13 TBATBAJanuary 2, 2024 (2024-01-02)2024 (2024)TBA

Cast

Key:  indicates a season in which a person appeared

CastRoleSeason 1Season 2Season 3Season 4Season 5Season 6Season 7Season 8
TimMoonshiner
Tickle Moonshiner
Marvin "Popcorn" Sutton Moonshiner
JesseLaw Enforcement Agent
JeffMoonshiner
MarkMoonshiner
LanceMoonshiner
Jim TomMoonshiner
JoshMoonshiner
BillMoonshiner
HowardMoonshiner
ChuckDeputy Sheriff
Mike (MS) Moonshiner
TweedyMoonshiner
ChicoMoonshiner
TylerMoonshiner
WayneMoonshiner
DarleneMoonshiner
Chris ThompsonMoonshiner
DiggerMoonshiner
DavidMoonshiner
PattiMoonshiner
Big ChuckMoonshiner
Mike (TN) Moonshiner
DanielMoonshiner
HenryMoonshiner
KennyMoonshiner

Spinoffs

Tickle

In May 2013, it was announced that, in addition to renewing Moonshiners for a third season, Discovery Channel would be purchasing a spinoff about Steven Ray Tickle, to be called Tickle . [9] The series premiered on August 13, 2013. [10]

Moonshiners: Whiskey Business

In February 2019, a new series titled Moonshiners: Whiskey Business was announced through Discovery Channel. The spinoff sprouted from a Moonshiners season seven special titled Whiskey Business, in which Tim Smith travels to help out struggling Missouri Ridge Distillery and keep them in business. The special proved successful and four more episodes were made to air at the end of Moonshiners' season 8. The spin-off started airing March 13, 2019. [11]

Moonshiners: Master Distiller

A new Moonshiners series titled Moonshiners: Master Distiller premiered on March 3, 2020, on Discovery Channel. [12]

Theme song and introduction sequence

The theme song for the show is Steve Earle's "Copperhead Road". The intro montage introduces the cast members, and also shows some of the difficulties they face while making the moonshine. Since season 5, the theme song has been Bleeding Fingers' "Livin' Outside the Law". [13]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moonshine</span> High-proof distilled spirit, generally produced illicitly

Moonshine is high-proof liquor, traditionally made or distributed illegally. Its clandestine distribution is known as bootlegging. The name was derived from a tradition of creating the alcohol during the nighttime, thereby avoiding detection. In the first decades of the 21st century, commercial distilleries have adopted the term for its outlaw cachet and begun producing their own legally sanctioned, novelty "moonshine", including many flavored varieties, that in some sense continue its tradition, generally having a similar method and/or location of production.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tennessee whiskey</span> Type of American whiskey

Tennessee whiskey is straight whiskey produced in the U.S. state of Tennessee. Although it has been legally defined as a bourbon whiskey in some international trade agreements, most current producers of Tennessee whiskey disclaim references to their products as "bourbon" and do not label them as such on any of their bottles or advertising materials. All current Tennessee whiskey producers are required by Tennessee law to produce their whiskeys in Tennessee and – with the sole exception of Benjamin Prichard's – to use a filtering step known as the Lincoln County Process prior to aging the whiskey. Beyond the perceived marketing value of the distinction, Tennessee whiskey and bourbon have almost identical requirements, and most Tennessee whiskeys meet the criteria for bourbon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pot still</span> Distillation apparatus for flavored liquors

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Conecuh Ridge Whiskey is a type of whiskey produced and officially marketed as "Clyde May's Alabama Style Whiskey" by Conecuh Ridge Distillery Inc. It is marketed as a high-quality aged moonshine whiskey which was produced illegally in Alabama during the mid to late 20th century. The brand was legalized by the moonshiner's son Kenny May.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Junior Johnson</span> American racing driver (1931–2019)

Robert Glenn Johnson Jr. , better known as Junior Johnson, was an American professional stock car racing driver, engineer, and team owner as well as an entrepreneur. He won 50 NASCAR races in his career before retiring in 1966. In the 1970s and 1980s, he became a NASCAR racing team owner, winning the NASCAR championship with Cale Yarborough and Darrell Waltrip. He is credited as the first to use the drafting technique in stock car racing. He was nicknamed "The Last American Hero," and his autobiography and movie based on his upbringing is of the same name. In May 2007, Johnson teamed with Piedmont Distillers of Madison, North Carolina, to introduce the company's second moonshine product, called "Midnight Moon Moonshine", a nod to the days of his early youth in the 1940s when he made a living as a moonshiner/moonrunner and bootlegger.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Poitín</span> Traditional Irish distilled beverage

Poitín, anglicized as poteen or potcheen, is a traditional Irish distilled beverage. Former common names for Poitín were "Irish moonshine" and "mountain dew". It was traditionally distilled in a small pot still and the term is a diminutive of the Irish word pota, meaning "pot". The Irish word for a hangover is póit. In accordance with the Irish Poteen/Irish Poitín technical file, it can only be made from cereals, grain, whey, sugar beet, molasses and potatoes.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Popcorn Sutton</span> American moonshiner and bootlegger (1946–2009)

Marvin "Popcorn" Sutton was an American Appalachian moonshiner and bootlegger. Born in Maggie Valley, North Carolina, he grew up, lived and died in the rural areas around Maggie Valley and nearby Cocke County, Tennessee. He wrote a self-published autobiographical guide to moonshining production, self-produced a home video depicting his moonshining activities, was the subject of several documentaries, including one that received a Regional Emmy Award, and is the subject of the award-winning biography and photobook The Moonshiner Popcorn Sutton.

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Steven Ray Tickle, usually referred to as simply "Tickle," is an American television personality, known for his role in Discovery Channel docudramas Moonshiners and Tickle. Tickle lives in rural Pittsylvania County, Virginia, and is shown as working in the town of Gretna.

Tickle is an American docudrama television series that aired in 2013 on the Discovery Channel. A spin-off of Moonshiners, the series follows moonshiner Steven Ray Tickle as he attempts to sell a large stash of moonshine that he found in the backwoods of Virginia. Tickle opens a fishing store called "Tickle's Tackle" in the town of Gretna as a front to move the liquor, but discovers that managing a business is more difficult than he expected.

The Great Moonshine Conspiracy Trial of 1935 resulted in the indictment of 80 people involved in the illegal production and distribution of moonshine whisky in Virginia. At the time, Franklin County was believed to produce the highest volume of illegal liquor in the U.S., colloquially referred to as "the moonshine capital of the world." From 1928-1935, prosecutors alleged that a conspiracy ring had defrauded the government out of 5.5 million dollars in whisky excise taxes, equivalent to roughly 95 million dollars today. The case is the second longest in Virginia’s history and eventually resulted in 20 convictions, including several officers of the law and government officials.

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Master distiller is a title often used for a distilling expert or a key leader or owner at modern distilleries. The title doesn't have a fixed definition and can mean different things at different companies. Although the craft of distilling has existed for centuries throughout history, the term "master distiller" only dates back as far as the 1800s when it was first used to acknowledge the distilling expertise and knowledge a person gained after practicing and perfecting the craft of distilling for many years. In more recent usage, the term can have a much broader meaning and is sometimes used for owners and company leaders who run their companies but do not actively create the distilling recipes and processes used at their distilleries.

Neal Hutcheson is an American filmmaker, photographer, and author. He has received three regional Emmy Awards for documentaries on regional culture, language, and identity. He has produced 17 television documentaries on topics such as Appalachian culture, heritage fisheries on the North Carolina Outer Banks, Cherokee language preservation efforts, African American vernacular speech, and climate change. Hutcheson’s most visible work has featured Popcorn Sutton, a moonshiner from Western North Carolina. The Moonshiner Popcorn Sutton, a book of photos, interviews and essays by Hutcheson, was released in 2021 and received a National Indie Excellence Award and the Outstanding Book—Independent Spirit Award from The Independent Publisher Book Awards, the largest unaffiliated book contest in the world, and was the grand prize winner of the 30th Annual Writer's Digest Self-Published Book Awards. Hutcheson works as a producer for the Language & Life Project at North Carolina State University and is a contributing producer to independent production companies Empty Bottle Pictures and Sucker Punch Pictures.

References

  1. "About Show : Moonshiners : Discovery Channel". Discovery Channel . Retrieved December 19, 2011.
  2. 1 2 "Virginia Authorities Claim Show 'Moonshiners' Doesn't Show Illegal Moonshining". Fox News . Associated Press. December 30, 2011. Archived from the original on January 13, 2016. Retrieved March 8, 2012.
  3. Murphy, Meagan (January 4, 2012). "'Moonshiners' Producer Stands By Show's Accuracy in Face of State's Claim Show Is a Hoax". Fox News .
  4. "The Last One – Popcorn Sutton Documentary – Special Edition (2012)". Amazon . Retrieved April 25, 2013.
  5. "The Last One - Popcorn and moonshine in North Carolina". The News & Observer . December 11, 2008. Archived from the original on March 8, 2014.
  6. "Popcorn Sutton Documentary Wins Emmy Award". The News & Observer . June 30, 2009. Archived from the original on February 21, 2014.
  7. Landess, Tom (June 1, 2009). "Marvin "Popcorn" Sutton, R.I.P." Chronicles . Archived from the original on November 3, 2011.
  8. "Shiners Tested Like Never Before in Moonshiners Season 12".
  9. "Discovery Renews 'Moonshiners', Adds Spinoff 'Tickle' (Exclusive)". May 6, 2013. Retrieved October 2, 2013.
  10. "New series Tickle premiers on Discovery Channel August 13 at 10pm". Archived from the original on August 11, 2013. Retrieved October 2, 2013.
  11. "Moonshiners: Whiskey Business" . Retrieved March 21, 2019.
  12. "May the Best Booze Win: Discovery's All New Series "Master Distiller" Premieres March 3". The Futon Critic . February 11, 2020.
  13. "Livin' Outside The Law - Moonshiners". Discovery. Retrieved April 22, 2018.