Call of the Wildman | |
---|---|
Also known as | The Turtleman of Wild Kentucky Call of the Wildman: More Live Action |
Starring | Ernie Brown, Jr. (aka "The Turtleman"); Neal James |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language(s) | English |
No. of seasons | 4 |
No. of episodes | 72 |
Production | |
Executive producer(s) | Andrew Sharp Dawn Sinsel |
Location(s) | Lebanon, Kentucky |
Running time | 30 minutes |
Production company(s) | Sharp Entertainment |
Release | |
Original network | Animal Planet |
Original release | October 30, 2011 | – September 14, 2014
External links | |
Website | animal |
Call of the Wildman is an American reality television series that airs on Animal Planet. The show follows the exploits of Kentucky woodsman Ernie Brown, Jr., nicknamed "The Turtleman". Aided by his friend, Neal James, and his dog, Lolly, Brown operates a nuisance animal removal business, while he catches and releases nuisance animals. The series is primarily filmed near Brown's Lebanon, Kentucky, home.
Brown began catching snapping turtles from ponds near his home at the age of 7. He came to the attention of Animal Planet producers in part after an episode of Kentucky Educational Television's Kentucky Afield series that featured his bare-handed turtle-catching techniques was posted on YouTube and went viral. After personally visiting Brown and doing some initial filming, network executives decided to produce a 12-episode season of the series with the working title The Turtleman of Wild Kentucky. The title was soon changed to Call of the Wildman, a reference to Brown's distinctive yell that punctuates his actions throughout the series. The series was Animal Planet's most watched program in the fourth quarter of 2011 and was renewed for a second, 16-episode series that began airing in June 2012. In October 2012, Animal Planet re-released the series with bonus features and trivia information known as Call of the Wildman: More Live Action.
Call of the Wildman has been compared to other reality series featuring individuals from the Southern United States such as Billy the Exterminator, Duck Dynasty, Swamp People, and Rocket City Rednecks. Because it depicts Brown's spartan existence in the backwoods of Kentucky, some poverty advocacy groups have expressed concerns that it exploits stereotypical views of Southerners as being poorly educated, poorly groomed, and impoverished. Network executives insist, however, that they have received no negative feedback about the program.