Beauties vs. beasts in new reality shows
“Growing Up Gator,” “Hog Dogs” were shot in Central Florida.
Attractive women and dangerous beasts drive two reality series shot in Central Florida.
In “Growing Up Gator,” the three heroines are dressed for a party, but they have to stop to remove a gator from a swimming pool. Glamour will be sacrificed to pull off a dangerous job in the premiere at 8 p.m. today on Great American Country.
In “Hog Dawgs,” seven women demonstrate how they handle nuisance animals. The five-part series will run from 7 to 8 p.m. Oct. 27-31 on Sportsman Channel. The lead figures, Sportsman says, are “skilled and dedicated huntresses” who are busy “corralling feral pigs, alligators, snakes and coyotes on a daily basis.”
“The bulk of it was shot this summer. The girls wear tank tops,” said executive producer Jackie Porter, one of the seven. “The heat index was like 110. I’m not going to ask those gals to put on long sleeves, pants and shirts. They were all raised in Florida. That’s their normal attire.”
The women work for the company Hog Dawgs, which Porter founded with her husband, Ray Finn. “The danger is real, and the action is nonstop,” he said.
“Growing Up Gator” focuses on sisters Britney and Kasey Brooks and cousin Chelsea Brooks. They work on their family’s Brooks Brothers Alligator Farm in Christmas.
“All these alligator shows have some success because people are fascinated with beasts that can kill or dismember you,” executive producer Calvin Simmons said. “This one is special. You don’t expect to see three 105-, 110-pound women managing the beasts. These women do what big, burly men do. These women are strong.”
Simmons said the series’ producer, Miami-based 2C Media, was “extremely lucky” to find Britney, 23; Kasey, 20; and Chelsea, 19. They are photogenic and natural.
“When you’re in the frame with an alligator, there’s nothing else to be but natural — to keep it from hurting itself or getting your leg,” Simmons said.
The six-episode series shot for six weeks in May and June, employing about 35 in Central Florida, Simmons estimated. If additional episodes are ordered, Simmons said he hopes to film more of Brandon Brooks, Chelsea’s brother.
The Brooks women have “this youth and fun and all-American blond-and-blue sparkle,” Simmons said.
The show offers a “gladiator element” and “crazy athleticism,” he said, but the Brooks family members are humble people. “They don’t see what they do as special,” he added.
“Hog Dawgs” identifies six of its seven leads just by their first names: Melissa, Margarita, Mallory, Samantha, Amanda and Jessica. They use knives, bows, shotguns and rifles to remove animals from farms and ranches. The show was in production about five months.
“We tried to keep it under the radar. There are so many reality-type TV shows,” Porter said. “We wanted to stay low-key until the Sportsman Channel announced.”
But the show has a casting call up for a second season.