They’re dirty, they’re unkempt, they hunt in swamps, and they manufacture “duck calls” (the whistle imitating the sound of a duck) for a living. Meet the Robertsons of Duck Dynasty – the newest reality-TV family that has made camo-wear fashionable and spotting beards cool.
Just how popular can a bunch of modern-day “Beverly Hillbillies” waddling through the marshes of the Bayou in Louisiana get? Well, if you’re Robertsons, the family that runs the multi-million dollar hunting empire called Duck Commander Products, you just happened to be the most-watched reality-TV cast in the history of the U.S. A&E across all key demos. Together with a string of reality hits featuring somewhat ordinary folks in family-run businesses or business ventures among friends, namely Pawn Stars, Storage Wars and Barter Kings – Duck Dynasty, now in its third season, is slushing out of the marsh and going places, possibly cementing A&E as the definitive home for primetime unscripted reality shows.
Following the success of the first two seasons, the show’s third season premiered in February 2013 to a whopping 8.6 million total viewers (5 million for ages 18 – 49 and 5 million for ages 25 – 54), with A&E proclaiming the show as the “#1 non-fiction series on cable in 2013”, with a further claim that social activity surrounding the series outranked American Idol. By now, Duck fans across America have laid claim to their favourite character, a particular Uncle Si, who with his eccentricity and cryptic meanings to the word “hey”, has (strangely) attracted hordes of female fans who want nothing but to have his babies. Uncle Si, who appears as a single man in the show, revealed recently, much to the disappointment of fans, that he is happily married. Still, the show’s infectious hilarity continues to lure audiences back for more.
Elaine Frontain Bryant – SVP, Non-Fiction & Alternative Programming, A+E Networks, gives her take on the series’ success.
“I believe the universal appeal that this family has bolds well for ratings but also works around the world. I think the idea of a loving family who is very authentic – who comes together at the end of every episode (each episode ends at the dinner table which the producers asserts, represents the family’s staple time of reflection) and goes through the moral play of what has been learned – is a universal theme. They speak to values that matter more and more in the world we live in now, meaning you can get rich and still live according to the roots that your parents taught you.”
Duck Dynasty was not merely an experiment A&E toyed with. Bryant explains that prior to production, there were early signs that indicated the show could work. A&E had sampled previous shows the Robertsons worked on. In what were instructional videos on hunting; the network witnessed the family’s ease in front of the camera and felt the show would be a hit with the A&E adult demographic that attracts an equal number of males and females.
“We did two pilots on this show as we wanted to make sure that we got it right. Both came in super strong, and were so funny, so we aired both in the first season!” exclaimed Bryant.
Many would argue the show is typically “redneck” and perhaps inaccessible to international audiences but Bryant does not seem to think so. She explains that A&E’s reach is what she calls “middle America” which tends to avoid genres of fashion and cookery that are more about cities like L.A. and New York, but the network never consciously tried to target “rednecks”.
“Being redneck has a negative connotation and that’s the antithesis of who the Robertsons are,” says Bryant. “The show is sculpted like more of a sitcom. We have a precedence on A&E. Gene Simmons Family Jewels and Growing Up Gotti had a bit of that setup. What’s beautiful about this show is that this family sits with us at the top of every season and they tell us their stories. A one-lined idea then gets splashed out into how that all happened, but it all comes from their anecdotes,” explains Bryant. “Organically the stories come from the family. Do we beat it out like any other show in reality? Yes! But every other (reality) show does that too.”
Bryant assures us there is more Duck Dynasty material that will ensure the series’ longevity as the show moves into pre-production for Season Four. Show producers, as Bryant asserts, are “following the funny” – they go where the cast leads.
And that “funny” has translated to not just high ratings, but a following of fans that are not just watching, but buying Duck Dynasty merchandise in a show of support for the series. A trip to A&E’s Duck Dynasty online store can be very telling – on sale are figurines, ornaments, apparel, camo-wear, DVDs, fake beards and of course, the duck calls themselves. What’s more, the Duck Commanders also run their own product business, adding to the treasure trove of memorabilia paying homage to the now-famous long-beard clan. Willie Robertson, CEO of Duck Commander, explains how the popularity of the show led to such high interest for his products that after the first season, he had to hire 40 more employees to cope with demand.
Beyond merchandise, the first two seasons of the show have secured a raft of sales outside the U.S. The show has been sold so far to the following territories: OLN (Canada), Ztélé (French-speaking Canada), TV3 (Denmark), TV5 (Finland), Pro4 (Hungary), Veronica (The Netherlands), Kanal 9 (Sweden), TV2 (Norway), MediaCorp (Singapore). Within A&E networks, the series will also air on A&E in Latin America and Australia, and on BIO in the UK, Southeast Asia, Spain, Portugal, and Israel.
Unscripted reality as a genre has certainly found a solid footing on A&E, and the network is clearly looking for more. Still, with new fare such as the upcoming Hannibal Lecter prequel Bates Motel which would undoubtedly be a huge push for the network, A&E’s programming offering cannot be any more diverse.
“A&E has always been a general entertainment brand and has been very eclectic in the type of programmes we offer. We drive different types of viewers to different nights. One of the reasons that A&E is such a leader around the world and certainly in this market is that we offer so many to different people. Good storytelling is at the heart of those.”
A&E will release 42 x ½ hour + 2 x 1 hour of Duck Dynasty at MIPTV. Duck Dynasty is a Feeding Time Productions for A&E Network.
