Moonshiners (TV series)

Moonshiners
Logo
Genre	Docudrama
Narrated by	Jeremy Schwartz
Country of origin	United States
No. of seasons	2
Production
Production locations	Climax, Virginia, Western North Carolina
Running time	42 minutes
Original release
Network	Discovery Channel
Release	December 6, 2011 (2011-12-06) – present

Moonshiners is an American docudrama television series on the Discovery Channel that dramatizes the life of people who produce (illegal) moonshine in the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina, Virginia, and South Carolina. The series dramatizes their liquor production efforts, law-evading techniques and life. There have been claims by local officials that the show is not what it portrays 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 said in March 2012 that, "If illegal activity was actually taking place, the Virginia ABC Bureau of Law Enforcement would have taken action."

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.In 2008, a version of the documentary that was edited for television was broadcast on PBS and the Documentary Channel with the title The Last One, and it received a Southeast Emmy Award in 2009. 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 felony possession of a firearm, and was sentenced to eighteen months in jail in 2009. He subsequently committed suicide, apparently to avoid serving the federal prison term.

The show's first season premiered on December 6, 2011, and its second season premiered on November 7, 2012.

Series overview

Season		Episodes	Originally aired		Average Rating (millions)
			Season premiere	Season finale
	1	7	December 6, 2011	January 4, 2012	2.76
	2	15	November 7, 2012	January 30, 2013	3.03

Episodes

Season 1 (2011–2012)

No. in series	No. in season	Episode title	Original airdate	U.S. viewers (millions)
1	1	"Moonshine Season Starts"	December 6, 2011	2.832
Two partners (Tim and Tickle) scout for a site for their operation, and an ABC agent discovers counter-surveillance measures.
2	2	"Point of No Return"	December 7, 2011	2.856
Tim and Tickle begin operating their still for the first time, which goes smoothly until an emergency strikes; a law enforcement agent pursues a hot tip.
3	3	"The Law Comes Knockin'"	December 14, 2011	2.578
Equipment failure and an intruder threaten moonshiner Tim and his partner Tickle's first run of moonshine. Law enforcement agent Jesse Tate shuts down an illegal drinking establishment. Veteran moonshiner Popcorn Sutton shows his old-fashioned way of producing moonshine.
4	4	"Outlaw Brotherhood"	December 21, 2011	2.791
Moonshiner Tim and his partner Tickle fix up Tim's car and use it to transport some moonshine. A hurricane threatens their still site.
5	5	"A Price to Pay"	December 28, 2011	2.618
In the late fall, moonshiner Tim adds a second pot to the still site to double his profits. Tickle falls while working and breaks three ribs. Agent Jesse tries to arrest people.
6	6	"A Moonshiner's Farewell"	January 4, 2012	2.899
Popcorn Sutton dies. Tim and Tickle produce moonshine day and night, making more money than Tim has ever made before. Agent Jesse conducts reconnaissance of an active still site.

Season 1 Special

No. in series	No. in season	Episode title	Original airdate	U.S. viewers (millions)
7	7	"Cannonball Run"	April 18, 2012	1.343
Tim and Tickle plan a risky midday transfer.

Season 2 (2012–2013)

No. in series	No. in season	Episode title	Original airdate	U.S. viewers (millions)
8	1	"Rise 'n Shine!"	November 7, 2012	3.06
Moonshine season in Appalachia has begun. Tim and Tickle are starting to try to produce some moonshine. A new law enforcement officer, Deputy Sheriff Chuck, is introduced.
9	2	"Moonshine Goldmine"	November 14, 2012	2.23
Josh and Bill make progress building their underground still. Mark and Jeff build a new copper still and go into the mountains to establish a new site. Tickle lures Tim back to their illegal site.
10	3	"Moonshiner Vs. Hogzilla"	November 21, 2012	2.48
Mark and Jeff call in moonshiner Jim Tom to help fix their broken still. Mark hunts and kills a wild hog. Meanwhile, Deputy Sheriff Chuck gets a tip from a hunter that leads him to an abandoned site.
11	4	"Storm's a Brewing"	November 28, 2012	2.36
A storm hits the Carolinas, and Jeff, Mark and Jim Tom produce moonshine during the storm. Nearby, Josh and Bill experience the same storm and a flood threatens their underground still site. Then, Tickle does something. The episode includes news stories about some moonshining arrests, an ongoing tropical storm and Barney Barnwell's documentary.
12	5	"A Shiner's Last Stand"	December 5, 2012	2.19
Tickle splits from Tim, recruits Howard as a new still hand, and heads into the woods to find a new site. Mark, Jeff and Jim Tom begin work on a second still to make barley-based liquor, but needs his wife and son to run the second site. Deputy Sheriff Chuck meets a confidential informant to get information about the drop off location for an active moonshine operation. Josh and Bill make repairs to their underground still site.
13	6	"Prophecy Fulfilled"	December 12, 2012	3.43
Tickle builds a new still and does something around midnight. Josh gets angry when he damages the nearly completed underground still site. Mark and Jeff make a risky move when they sell some of their product in town. Jim Tom teaches Jeff's son Lance how to measure the alcohol content of moonshine.
14	7	"Tickle Goes Rogue"	December 19, 2012	3.65
Tickle goes it alone after his still hand Howard gets spooked by an intruder and disappears. Josh and Bill discover toxic black mold in their underground still site. Jeff's wife and son set up a second still to run barley scotch. Deputy Sheriff Chuck tries to catch moonshiners.
15	8	"Troubled Waters"	January 2, 2013	3.46
Tickle gets discovered by an angry landowner, while Tim devises a new hiding spot for his back-up stash of moonshine. Josh and Bill get into a bone-breaking fight at their new still site. Mark carries moonshine by canoe at night.
16	9	"Adios, Mr. Still"	January 9, 2013	3.30
Gunfire erupts in the bamboo patch just as Josh and Bill fire up their still for the first time in the season. Meanwhile, Jeff, Mark and Jim Tom make a batch of rye whiskey in the style of President George Washington. Tickle's still is sabotaged.
17	10	"Moonshine Treasure Hunt"	January 16, 2013	3.18
Tim hunts for 200 gallons of high-value 60-year-old moonshine at the bottom of a lake. Mark and Jeff encounter a thief stealing their moonshine. Mike and Tweedy hide moonshine under a pile of horse manure. Tickle has some interaction with his old still hand Howard.
18	11	"Hat in Hand"	January 23, 2013	3.17
In debt to dangerous people, Tickle goes to Tim for help. Jeff, Mark and Jim Tom struggle with a nest of yellow jackets at their still site. Josh comes to Cutie Pie's rescue when she gets hurt at the underground still.
19	12	"Last Shiner Standing"	January 30, 2013	3.87
As Tim gets ready to go legal, Tickle loads the last batch of illegal moonshine into an RV's water tank to sell to waiting customers. Josh and Bill's above-ground still malfunctions, ending their season, but they find that their underground site is now mold-free and ready to use during the winter. Jeff, Mark, and Jim Tom run three stills at once, and Deputy Sheriff Chuck makes his move, arresting the suspect he pursued all season. This episode was dedicated in memory of Darrin Lewis, Mike's brother.

Season 2 Specials

No. in series	No. in season	Episode title	Original airdate	U.S. viewers (millions)
20	13	"Secret Summit Part 1"	February 6, 2013	TBA
In Part 1 of this special, the moonshiners meet in a secluded cabin for an interview with executive producer Matthew Ostrom. They talk about run-ins with the law, why they let the cameras in, making dynamite, and old proofing methods.
21	14	"Secret Summit Part 2"	February 13, 2013	TBA
In Part 2 of this special, the moonshiners meet in a secluded cabin for an interview with executive producer Matthew Ostrom. They talk about the moonshiners code, leading double lives, obsessive fans, and the perils of life at the still site.
22	15	"Tickle's Guide to Love"	February 14, 2013	TBA

Cast

Key:   indicates a season in which a person appeared

Cast	Role	Season 1	Season 2
Tim	Moonshiner
Tickle	Moonshiner
Marvin "Popcorn" Sutton	Moonshiner
Jesse	Law Enforcement Agent
Jeff	Moonshiner
Mark	Moonshiner
Lynn	Moonshiner
Lance	Moonshiner
Jim Tom	Moonshiner
Josh	Moonshiner
Bill	Moonshiner
Howard	Moonshiner
Don Wood	Moonshiner
Moonshiner X	Moonshiner
Chuck	Deputy Sheriff
Mike	Moonshiner
Tweedy	Moonshiner

Cast descriptions

Descriptions of cast member characters are listed in this section, based on their depiction in the show – which includes some amount of fiction mixed with fact:

• Moonshiners:
  • The Tim and Tickle moonshiners featured in both season 1 and season 2 (operating out of Pittsylvania County, Virginia):
    • Tim: Tim is a moonshiner. Descended from three generations of moonshiners and bootleggers, Tim has been around moonshine his entire life. His earliest memories were of helping his father hide moonshine in secret stash spots around the family farm. Tim is also the chief of the local fire department. He lives in Southwestern Virginia with his wife, Shelby and son, JT. Tim wants to get out of the illicit business and spends much of Season 2 making arrangements to go legal.
    • Tickle: Tim's right-hand man. Like Tim, Tickle is a native of southwestern Virginia. He is a hard working still hand who loves moonshine and cooking. During season 2, he splits from Tim and tries to go into business for himself.
    • Howard: A new "still hand" recruited as Tickle's assistant in season 2.
  • The team of Mark, Jeff, and Jim Tom (operating out of Graham County, North Carolina):
    • Jeff: A man who has spent most of his working life as both a logger and a bulldozer operator. Though he comes from seven generations of moonshiners, Jeff never wanted to practice making moonshine until the recession left him unemployed.
    • Mark: A man who grew up so isolated from mainstream society that he was 14 years old before he ever saw money. When he was a child, Mark's family lived in a cabin far from the nearest town. They survived by living entirely off the land, hunting or growing all their food. Mark has spent the last thirty years working as a hunting guide and making moonshine. Mark is also Jeff's brother-in-law.
    • Jim Tom Hedrick: A moonshiner and storyteller. He has been a biker, pilot, ham radio operator, and musician, while also producing corn liquor. He has been making moonshine for sixty years, and even brewed while he was in prison.
    • Lynn: Jeff's wife.
    • Lance: Jeff and Lynn's son.
  • The Josh and Bill group are working on an underground still at the site of a music festival in South Carolina in season 2, inspired by their deceased friend Barney Barnwell's dream of building such a still:
    • Josh: A lumberjack, biker, and moonshiner who splits his time between South and North Carolina. Long before he became a moonshiner, Josh had a career as a professional superbike and motocross racer. He now sometimes rides a motorcycle with his dog "Cutie Pie" riding on the handlebars.
    • Bill: A man who, when not making moonshine with Josh, plays fiddle with several local country music bands. He also plays guitar, banjo, and drums. Bill grew up in North Carolina, but now lives in South Carolina.
  • Moonshiner X (operating out of Johnston County, North Carolina): An unidentified man who is described as being someone who runs a major moonshining operation. Partway through season 2, he withdraws from participating in the show for fear of being arrested.
  • The Mike and Tweedy moonshiners:
    • Mike: A moonshiner first appearing in season 2. After fifteen years out of the business, Mike wants to make enough moonshine to help his brother, who had health problems.
    • Tweedy: A moonshiner first appearing in season 2.
• Law enforcement officers:
  • Jesse: A Special Agent for the Virginia Department of Alcohol and Beverage Control. In season 1, he was trying to catch various moonshiners in Virginia. He did not return for the show's second season.
  • Chuck: A Deputy Sheriff who is a law enforcement veteran and has spent the last decade trying to catch bootleggers and moonshiners. He joined the show in season 2 after Jesse's departure.

External links

• Official website
• Moonshiners at IMDb