In what is probably not a surprise to anyone at this point, Animal Planet has announced that they have ordered a 10-episode second season of its highly-rated (and highly-controversial) show, Finding Bigfoot. The show, which follows Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization founder Matt Moneymaker and crew while they search for Sasquatch, has received a lot of criticism for being staged or faked. Much of it coming from the cast (including Moneymaker) themselves.
You know this is coming…
ANIMAL PLANET CONTINUES ITS SEARCH FOR THE SASQUATCH IN THE SECOND SEASON OF FINDING BIGFOOT
— Network Announces Early 2012 Return of Hit Series-
— Halloween’s a Real Treat This October with a Two-hour Special Episode “The Squatchiest Place on Earth” –
(Silver Spring, MD) – This summer, Animal Planet left a giant footprint possibly the size of a Sasquatch itself when it revealed its six-part series FINDING BIGFOOT, which just completed its first season. Ranking among the network’s top three series, delivering 1.2M P2+ viewers, FINDING BIGFOOT found a sizeable audience among viewers, whether they believe in or question the existence of the elusive creature.
Today, Animal Planet announces the return of FINDING BIGFOOT, with an order of 10 episodes where the search for the Sasquatch continues into the next chapter. With a second season scheduled for early 2012, the network is committed to looking for the Bigfoot until it’s found and has plans to explore reported sightings throughout the United States, including Utah, New Mexico, Indiana, Pennsylvania and upstate New York.
Viewers who can’t wait until the start of season two won’t be kept in total suspense. Just in time for Halloween, Animal Planet plants its viewers deep within the dark forests of Northern California with a two-hour FINDING BIGFOOT special, “The Squatchiest Place on Earth.” Bigfoot Field Research Organization (BFRO) investigators hone in on the most infamous and disputed piece of Bigfoot evidence ever – the Patterson-Gimlin footage. Captured more than 50 years ago, the footage has been the center of the Bigfoot debate and has driven conspiracy theorists and Sasquatch enthusiasts on a quest to prove the creature’s existence. Now, the BFRO researchers take Animal Planet cameras to the site where the footage was captured and scout out new sites where the best and most convincing Bigfoot footprints have been reported.
In FINDING BIGFOOT, a four-person team from the BFRO – a leading scientific research organization exploring the Bigfoot/Sasquatch mystery – investigates Sasquatch sightings by interviewing locals, examining evidence and infiltrating the woodlands and forests in places where Bigfoot has been reported. Led by the BFRO president Matt Moneymaker, crab fisherman James “Bobo” Fay, science educator Cliff Barackman and skeptical scientist Ranae Holland, the team listens to harrowing tales of run-ins with Bigfoot before generating reconstructions of the encounters to judge their plausibility or dismiss them as hoaxes. Then, outfitted with the latest technology, including night-vision and infrared cameras, the team sets out on exhilarating and eerie investigations where any broken branch or peculiar noise could mean a Sasquatch is lurking nearby.
FINDING BIGFOOT is produced for Animal Planet by Ping Pong Productions. Keith Hoffman is the executive producer for Animal Planet. Brad Kuhlman and Casey Brumels are the executive producers for Ping Pong Productions. Marc Etkind is Vice President of development for Animal Planet.
One can only hope that the very public criticism by the cast (as well as other critics in the cryptozoology field) about how the show is edited causes the producers to change the way the show is presented on-air. Hopefully Season 2 will show a more realistic view of Bigfoot hunting. But I won’t be holding my breath. And seriously? “The Squatchiest Place on Earth?” Come on, Animal Planet…
