Yukoner's hunting show renewed for 2nd season on U.S. channel

A reality TV show filmed in Yukon has been renewed for a second season in the U.S.

Greg McHale's Wild Yukon is now airing on the Sportsman Channel, only available in the U.S. The network says it reaches more than 36 million homes.

The show follows McHale, a Yukon-based adventurer, on hunting journeys into some of the territory's most remote and scenic places. It's assembled by a team of only three people who aim to give it a very "cinematic" look, McHale says.

"We are trying to produce a more cinematic style, where it's not so much about the harvest as it is about these wild places and the places where we have the access to hunt," he says.

The Journal of Mountain Hunting recently called the series "an incredibly well-produced show," and fans on Facebook have peppered McHale with questions about gear.

So far, ten episodes have aired. The renewal with the Sportsman Channel means another ten episodes will be produced. 

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McHale travels with cinematographers David Brabec and Karl Blattman, who handle shooting and editing. It's a small crew, McHale says. 

McHale is a licenced pilot and even flies a float plane himself to reach locations. But the show often focuses on travel which includes kayaking, pack rafting and long hikes up mountain ranges.

One challenge is keeping the camera lenses clean as the show tracks McHale through mud and snow.

"It's really a show about being in these wild spaces," he says. "The pulling of the trigger is one small part of the whole experience and we're trying to portray that." 

McHale and his crew assembled a pilot episode on their own before signing a distribution deal with the Sportsman Channel.

The show joins other reality TV programs filmed in Yukon which have found an international audience, including Dr. Oakley, Yukon Vet, and mining programs like Gold Rush and Yukon Gold. 

Because of its distribution deal, McHale's show is not available to watch in Canada — not even online. 

He hopes the show will create more interest in Yukon tourism and outfitting, and that the images will appeal not only to hunters, but to photographers and anyone interested in back country travel.