'Moonshiners' New Show Misleading Virginia Viewers (Video)
Alcohol regulators in Virginia are upset over a new show depicting people who live in the backwoods of Virginia and how they make moonshine.
The regulators claim the show’s misleading depiction of illegal moonshine production is a dramatization and no illegal booze is being produced.
The Discovery Channel’s new show "Moonshiners" is a television series about people who brew their own moonshine and the local authorities' efforts to track them down. The show includes actual western Virginia residents as well as state agents.
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The AP reported that in an emailed statement sent by Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control spokeswoman Kathleen Shaw on Thursday stated some viewers had raised concerns as to why the state is allowing a crime to take place. Shaw reassured the concerned viewers that the show is a dramatization, and no illegal liquor is actually being distributed.
"If illegal activity was actually taking place, the Virginia ABC Bureau of Law Enforcement would have taken action," Shaw wrote.
One of the main characters in “Moonshiners” is Tim Smith, of Pittsylvania County. In the series is his son J.T. Smith who is a senior at Gretna High School. Two other characters include Smith’s friend Steve Tickle, and ABC agent Jesse Tate, according to Fox News.
Shaw continued, "Virginia ABC agreed to participate in an informative piece that documents the history of moonshine and moonshine investigations in Virginia.”
Among other things, a Nov. 30 news release announcing the show’s premiere says that “Viewers will witness practices rarely, if ever, seen on television including the sacred rite of passage for a moonshiner, firing up the still for the first time.”
“Virginia ABC did not participate nor was aware of the false depiction of moonshine manufacturing, distribution and/or transportation in the filming, and would not have participated in the 'documentary' had it known of this portrayal," the statement said.
Request for comments from the shows publicist were not immediately returned. The release does not specify whether parts of the show are dramatized.
