Moonshiners (TV Series) - Wikipedia

American docudrama television series

Moonshiners
Logo
Genre	Docudrama
Narrated by	Jeremy Schwartz
Country of origin	United States
No. of seasons	14
No. of episodes	295 (list of episodes)
Production
Running time	60 minutes
Original release
Network	Discovery Channel
Release	December 6, 2011 (2011-12-06) –present
Related
Tickle (2013) Moonshiners: Whiskey Business (2019) series 13

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 producer to add a disclaimer to clarify that the show was only a dramatization, "but the request was overlooked",[2] and the show's producer, Magilla Entertainment, have stated its documentary content is real.[3]

Portions of the show that feature Marvin "Popcorn" Sutton were taken from a documentary film by Neal Hutcheson. Hutcheson's documentary was filmed and released in 2002, called This is the Last Dam Run of Likker I'll Ever Make. In 2008, a version of the documentary that was edited for television was broadcast on PBS[citation needed] and the Documentary Channel[4] with the title The Last One, and it received a Southeast Emmy Award in 2009.[5] 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.[6]

The series premiered on December 6, 2011.

The fifteenth season premieres on January 6, 2026.

Series overview

[edit] Further information: List of Moonshiners episodes

Season	Episodes		Specials	Originally released		Average rating(millions)
				First released	Last released
1	6		1	December 6, 2011 (2011-12-06)	January 4, 2012 (2012-01-04)	2.76
2	12		3	November 7, 2012 (2012-11-07)	January 30, 2013 (2013-01-30)	3.03
3	13		7	November 5, 2013 (2013-11-05)	February 4, 2014 (2014-02-04)	2.53
4	14		10	November 4, 2014 (2014-11-04)	February 3, 2015 (2015-02-03)	2.00
5	17		1	November 17, 2015 (2015-11-17)	March 8, 2016 (2016-03-08)	1.85
6	17		5	November 15, 2016 (2016-11-15)	March 14, 2017 (2017-03-14)	TBA
7	18		12	November 15, 2017 (2017-11-15)	March 27, 2018 (2018-03-27)	1.59
8	18		10	December 11, 2018 (2018-12-11)	July 9, 2019 (2019-07-09)	TBA
9	17		4	November 19, 2019 (2019-11-19)	May 9, 2020 (2020-05-09)	TBA
10	20		7	November 23, 2020 (2020-11-23)	April 13, 2021 (2021-04-13)	TBA
11	21		2	October 20, 2021 (2021-10-20)	March 30, 2022 (2022-03-30)	TBA
12	20		5	November 2, 2022 (2022-11-02)	April 10, 2023 (2023-04-10)	TBA
13	16		3	December 26, 2023 (2023-12-26)	May 21, 2024 (2024-05-21)	TBA
14	16		2	November 5, 2024 (2024-11-05)	March 11, 2025 (2025-03-11)	TBA
15	TBA		TBA	January 6, 2026 (2026-01-06)	TBA	TBA

Spinoffs

[edit]

In May 2013, it was announced that Moonshiners was renewed for a third season, and that Discovery Channel would purchase a spinoff about Steven Ray Tickle, called Tickle.[7] The series premiered on August 13, 2013.[8]

In February 2019, a new series titled Moonshiners: Whiskey Business was announced through Discovery Channel. It spun 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. Four more episodes were made to air at the end of season 8 of Moonshiners. The spin-off started airing March 13, 2019.[9]

A new series titled Moonshiners: Master Distiller premiered on March 3, 2020, on Discovery Channel.[10]

References

[edit]

1. ^ "About Show : Moonshiners : Discovery Channel". Discovery Channel. Retrieved December 19, 2011.
2. ^ a b "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 and moonshine in North Carolina". The News & Observer. December 11, 2008. Archived from the original on March 8, 2014.
5. ^ "Popcorn Sutton Documentary Wins Emmy Award". The News & Observer. June 30, 2009. Archived from the original on February 21, 2014.
6. ^ Landess, Tom (June 1, 2009). "Marvin "Popcorn" Sutton, R.I.P." Chronicles. Archived from the original on November 3, 2011.
7. ^ "Discovery Renews 'Moonshiners', Adds Spinoff 'Tickle' (Exclusive)". May 6, 2013. Retrieved October 2, 2013.
8. ^ "New series Tickle premiers on Discovery Channel August 13 at 10pm". Archived from the original on August 11, 2013. Retrieved October 2, 2013.
9. ^ "Moonshiners: Whiskey Business". Retrieved March 21, 2019.
10. ^ "May the Best Booze Win: Discovery's All New Series "Master Distiller" Premieres March 3". The Futon Critic. February 11, 2020.

External links

[edit]

• Official website
• Moonshiners at IMDb

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