We've discussed this television show on Racing Through History . Thought you might enjoy this article that originated with a Danville (Va.) Register & Bee reporter and was reprinted in the Sunday Richmond Times-Dispatch .
Moonshiners' get taste of fame in Pittsylvania County
By: Tiffany Holland | Media General News Service
Published: February 19, 2012
"If you really love your country, you're gonna have to love moonshine," said Steve Tickle on the show "Moonshiners" on the Discovery Channel.
That quote is now written on T-shirts available for purchase. And if you are from the Dan River region, you may even get Tickle to sign it for you.
Since the debut of the show "Moonshiners" in December, the lives of its Pittsylvania County cast have been routine. They still get up and go to work every day like they have always done. Tim Smith still wears his trademark overalls and cowboy hat. His son, J.T., still goes to Gretna High School.
But now no matter where they go, everyone knows who they are.
But the cast seems to be enjoying its newfound fame. Last month, the group was at Thunder Road Harley-Davidson to help raise money for charity. They signed T-shirts and took photos with fans.
Hundreds came out to see the "Moonshiners." A line formed around the store, and one fan joked, "You'd think people here never seen a bootlegger before, and you know that ain't true."
But the fans weren't the doe-eyed teenagers from a "Twilight" screening, they were mostly grown men with full beards, their own bikes and knew a thing or two about brewing shine themselves. And they all wanted pictures and autographs with the men of "Moonshiners."
Although their names have become well-known, especially in the area, they still go about their everyday activities just as they did before "Moonshiners" aired. Many people have questioned how much of the show is staged, but their lifestyles from growing up in rural Virginia and Smith's passion for the art of moonshine and its history are as real as their accents.
However, making moonshine is illegal. The Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control sent out a news release stating the show was misleading viewers to thinking they were allowing illegal activities. An official from the Virginia ABC said the show was a dramatization, moonshine was not actually being made and the ABC would not have participated if they knew how the episodes would turn out.
Releases from the Discovery Channel do not specify whether parts of the show are dramatized.
The show's six episodes did well in the ratings. According to Amy Hagovsky, a communications director for the Discovery Channel, the show averaged 2.8 million viewers per episode.
Because of the show's success, Matt Ostrom, one of the show's executive producers from Magilla Entertainment, said they were hopeful they could work out another season, but nothing is definite.
Tiffany Holland reports for the Danville Register & Bee.
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updated by @dave-fulton: 12/05/16 04:02:07PM