How can moonshiners air

Viewers might like Cutie Pie better than they like Josh, honestly. He still loves motorcycles, and he was coming back from a motorcycle rally last August when he discovered that his trailer had caught on fire. The producers had the same thought, so the show was actually supposed to be about legal moonshine production. It seemed too risky to make a show about illegal moonshine production and not get everyone involved in trouble.

The original pitch to the network was about legal distilleries that exist. There was just one problem -- they realized it was going to be boring. There was no way that they would have gotten the viewership numbers that they do now. Adding Tim, who was able to take the cameras into the woods and offer an inside look at something that had been so secret, was what really took the show to the next level. If they pay attention to the production credits, the production company might be one reason why.

Moonshiners is produced by Magilla Entertainment, a company based in New York. Magilla also produces things like Lakefront Bargain Hunt , where some participants actually bought their home years before the show was taped, and Southie Rules , which was painfully scripted. First, he was arrested for public intoxication. Then he was arrested for possession of a sawed-off handgun, which a police officer found in the front seat of his car.

After that, he was arrested again for probation violation, after he admitted to drug use. He was originally given a suspended three year sentence in July for the shotgun. After his probation violation, a judge revoked the original sentence but made him serve five months of active time.

After his five months were up, he had twelve months of probation and has to be on "good behavior" for the next five years. He learned the consequences of being caught early. He experienced his first raid at five years old, when police officers were investigating his father. Smith explained in an interview that when the police showed up, he had to try and hide the illegal moonshine from the authorities. His dad must have taught him well, though, since he managed to avoid the police long enough to eventually become a legal moonshiner.

Popcorn Sutton never did serve the months in prison that he was sentenced to. Casual viewers may not have realized that he ended his own life years before Moonshiners ever premiered. The clips that the show uses are from a documentary filmed in that cemented his place as a bootlegging legend. His daughter told his wife that he had said in advance that he would rather die. Instead of reporting for his eighteen month sentence, he ended his own life via carbon monoxide poisoning just days before his sentence was supposed to begin.

This is actually kind of a loaded question because there is no real substance on either side of this fence to appropriately answer it. For example, if you consider the point that many people make about camera crews filming this illegal activity, they are well within their legal rights to film anything that they choose to without persecution from the law.

You can liken it to Sean Penn sneaking into Mexico to meet with one of the most wanted fugitives in the world, El Chapo. He was able to put together a rather impressive interview with the man, but when he returned to the United States, many suspected that he would be facing criminal charges. The truth remains that he could have filmed the entire interview and not doing anything wrong. As the camera crew with the Moonshiners is not helping them to actively evade police or to create the moonshine, they are merely documenting it.

Also, these alleged crimes would have happened several months prior by the time they ever reach the air, meaning that evidence beyond this reality show is likely to no longer exist. There is a burning concern that the show is nothing more than a dramatization, and that is what the Virginia ABC Bureau of Law Enforcement has released statements to suggest.

Their finest work is unquestionably King of Thrones , a show that can only be described as " Pimp My Ride for toilets. Unfortunately, Magilla's shows have been repeatedly accused of misleading viewers. For example, an episode of Lakefront Bargain Hunt depicts an interior decorator named Robin Corbeil choosing between three different houses. In reality, Corbeil bought the "winning" home almost two years before the show taped. The same thing happens on Beachfront Bargain Hunt , with the bonus that producers often temporarily decorate the houses before featuring them on the show.

The show Southie Rules was widely panned for being obviously scripted, while the less said about Long Island Medium , the better. In other words, Magilla may not be the gold standard for keeping the "reality" in reality TV, or even the cubic zirconium standard.

The first season of Moonshiners featured special agent Jesse Tate of the Virginia Alcohol Beverage Control Bureau, although attentive viewers noted that he never interacted with the titular moonshiners, or gave any indication he was aware of that aspect of the show. Sure enough, the furious Bureau later claimed the producers had lied about the kind of program they were making. In a statement, the Bureau insisted that it had "agreed to participate in an informative piece that documents the history of moonshine and moonshine investigations in Virginia.

Jesse Tate, for reasons so obvious we'd be insulting your intelligence if we mentioned them here, did not reappear in season 2. When it comes to depicting real crimes, reality show producers have to walk a fine line.

Under US law, witnesses to a crime aren't actually obligated to stop it from happening. However, if a show deliberately puts people at risk, then it could be liable to legal action.

One man settled out of court after he was hit in the face with a shoe during a fight on The Real Housewives of New Jersey. His lawyer claimed that the fight was staged, and that the producers should have taken precautions to ensure bystanders weren't maimed by flying stilettos. Big Brother also had to settle a lawsuit after accepting a housemate with a history of assault, who proceeded to threaten another contestant at knifepoint.

Because the stars of Moonshiners are paid to appear on the show, the producers would almost certainly be liable if anyone was injured from drinking illegal alcohol produced for the show.

Since sheer insurance costs haven't shut down production, it seems likely that no actual moonshine is being sold on the Discovery Channel's dime. Although it's illegal to distill spirits in the US without state and federal permits , it's not like those permits are impossible to get.