''Life Below Zero'' (styled as ''Life Below Zero°'' on the title card) is a

documentary television Television documentaries are televised media productions that screen documentaries. Television documentaries exist either as a television documentary series or as a television documentary film. * Television documentary series, sometimes called d ...

series that illustrates the daily and seasonal activities of subsistence hunters as they make their living in remote areas of

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

. Produced by BBC Studios, the show airs on

National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly ''The National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as ''Nat Geo'') is an American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. The magazine was founded in 1888 as a scholarly journal, nine ...

. Each episode pays on average US$2000–4500 to each actor per episode. Some sources call this a reality television series; the people earn money from appearing in it.

Plot

The show follows people living in the remote areas of Alaska, surviving off the land, making money through various ventures, as well as dealing with the many different challenges that come with living so remotely in such an unforgiving environment.

Main characters

*Sue Aikens – a -year-old (born July 1, 1963) woman and the sole resident of the Kavik river camp in northern Alaska. The camp is located directly adjacent to the Kavik River, 197 miles north of the

Arctic Circle The Arctic Circle is one of the two polar circles, and the northernmost of the five major circle of latitude, circles of latitude as shown on maps of Earth at about 66° 34' N. Its southern counterpart is the Antarctic Circle. The Arctic Circl ...

. Her motto is "If it hurts, don't think about it." *Chip and Agnes Hailstone – live with their seven children on the

Kobuk River The Kobuk River (Inupiaq language, Iñupiaq: ''Kuuvak''; Koyukon language, Koyukon: ''Hʉlghaatno''), also known by the names Kooak, Kowak, Kubuk, Kuvuk, and Putnam, is a river located in the Arctic region of northwestern Alaska in the United St ...

Noorvik Noorvik (, meaning "A place to move to") is an Iñupiat city in the Northwest Arctic Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 694, up from 668 in 2010. Located in the NANA Region Corp, Noorvik ...

, 19 miles north of the Arctic Circle. Chip lived in

Kalispell, Montana Kalispell (, Salish-Spokane-Kalispel language, Montana Salish: Ql̓ispé, Kutenai language: Kqayaqawakⱡuʔnam) is a city in Montana and the county seat of Flathead County, Montana, United States. The 2020 census put Kalispell's population at ...

, before moving to Alaska. Agnes is Native Alaskan, an Inupiaq born in Noorvik, and is the one member of the cast who has spent their entire life in Alaska, as well as the longest-resident. She has family ties to the land that extend thousands of years and knowledge that has been passed down from generation to generation. Although Agnes is more the focus of the Hailstones' segments, her whole family comes to the screen with her. *Glenn Villeneuve – moved from

Burlington, Vermont Burlington, officially the City of Burlington, is the List of municipalities in Vermont, most populous city in the U.S. state of Vermont and the county seat, seat of Chittenden County, Vermont, Chittenden County. It is located south of the Can ...

, to Alaska in 1999. He lives alone in

Chandalar Chandalar is an unincorporated community in Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area in the U.S. state of Alaska. Chandalar is located on the eastern shore of Chandalar Lake by Chandalar Lake Airport, about 200 miles north of Fairbanks, and is at an eleva ...

, 200 miles north of

Fairbanks, Alaska Fairbanks is a Municipal home rule, home rule city and the county seat, borough seat of the Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska, United States. Fairbanks is the largest city in the Interior Alaska, interior region of Alaska and the second la ...

, and 65 miles north of the Arctic Circle. Later he is joined by his wife and children. *Jessie Holmes – lives in Brushkana,

, where he is a fisherman, hunter and dogsled racer living alone with his 40 sled dogs. *Andy Bassich – lives on the

Yukon River The Yukon River is a major watercourse of northwestern North America. From its source in British Columbia, it flows through Canada's territory of Yukon (itself named after the river). The lower half of the river continues westward through the U.S ...

near

Eagle, Alaska Eagle ( in Hän Athabascan) is a village on the south bank of the Yukon River, near the Canada–US border in the Southeast Fairbanks Census Area in Alaska, United States. It includes the Eagle Historic District, a U.S. National Historic Lan ...

, with his 25 sled dogs. He came to Alaska after moving from

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, with his wife, Kate Bassich. Andy and Kate divorced in 2016. Andy's girlfriend, Denise, has now joined him at his homestead. *Erik and Martha Mae Salitan – a young couple, well versed in wilderness living, who live 67 miles north of the Arctic Circle in

Wiseman, Alaska Wiseman is a census-designated place (CDP) in Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska, United States. The full time resident population is 12 as of 2022. Wiseman is a small mining community along the Middle Fork Koyukuk River in the Brooks Range. It ...

. *Ricko DeWilde – an Alaskan Athabaskan who moves into his family's remote abandoned cabin near Huslia,

. Later, he has his young children visit to begin teaching them about subsistence living.

Broadcast

The show premiered on Sunday night. It switched to Tuesday night beginning in Season 4. It currently shows on Tuesday at 8 p.m. Eastern Time.

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Official National Geographic website
* {{National Geographic TV 2013 American television series debuts 2010s American documentary television series American English-language television shows National Geographic (American TV channel) original programming Primetime Emmy Award–winning television series Television series by BBC Studios Television shows set in Alaska