Andy DehnartThe 150th episode of National Geographic Channel’s flagship, Emmys-winning reality series Life Below Zero aired in 2021, and it’s still going strong, continuing to produce new episodes and new spin-offs, including Life Below Zero: Next Generation, Life Below Zero: First Alaskans, and Life Below Zero: Port Protection.
How is the show filmed—including during a pandemᎥc? What’s it like to be on both sides of the camera? How were the show’s spin-off series cast?
How is the show edited? Why is the music so loud? How is the show challenging itself to more accurately represent the lives of Native Alaskans?
Answers to all of those questions and more are in the stories below: a collection of behind-the-scenes pieces that include interviews with one of its stars and its showrunner, and a first-person account of what it’s like to film a reality TV show in the middle of Alaska.
An interview with Life Below Zero executive producer and showrunner Joseph Litzinger about how covɪd-?? affected the production of Life Below Zero season 14, plus the creation of a new series in the franchise, Life Below Zero: Next Generation.
Joseph Litzinger—Life Below Zero's showrunner since season two, whose previous credits include The Challenge and Hell’s Kitchen—writes about producing the show in less-than-ideal environments. That includes frozen cameras and peeing in a bucket.
A reader asks why the music and background sounds on Life Below Zero are so loud, and make it hard to hear dialogue. Its showrunner knows this is a problem, and explains why it might be happening.
Life Below Zero: First Alaskans had a cast of Native Alaskans, and also had representation behind the camera. Here, a story producer talks about her job and helping to tell stories about Native lives and experiences.
Life Before Zero's break-out star Sue Aikens talks about what it's like to be filmed for the National Geographic Channel series, and how she interacts with the film crew when she's at Kavik River Camp and elsewhere.
In 2015, Sue Aikens flew off her snowmachine, through the air and tumbles into snow. I interviewed her about what happened. "This injury absolutely taught me fear. I fear being in that much pain," she said.
After the events of that episode, Sue Aikens filed a lawsuit against the production company and one of its producers, claiming she was “forced” to participate in “scripted scenes.”
Sue continued to appear in the series, and this story has details about what happened with that lawsuit.
The series Port Protection Alaska returns to NatGeo, rebranded as Life Below Zero: Port Protection. Meet its cast members, and see what makes it different than Life Below Zero.
What happened to cast members Amanda, Timbi, and Hans from early seasons of Port Protection? Also: watch Gary Muehlberger solve a problem at his house as winter approaches.