What To Know
As Swamp People returns for Season 17, the show’s EP dishes on new mom Cheyenne ‘Pickle’ Wheat.
In an exclusive interview, we learn about her evolving relationship with boss Troy Landry.
Plus, how ‘Little Willie’ Edwards is coping following the death of his grandfather Junior.
The alligator hunters are ready to hit the southern Louisiana waters for Season 17 of Swamp People. They’ll face some of the most unpredictable conditions this year thanks to fluctuating water levels. Captain Troy Landry once again teams up with deckhand Cheyenne “Pickle” Wheat. Also, on a separate boat is Troy’s son Jacob and “Little Willie” Edwards, who continues on after his grandfather Junior died after complications from Stage 4 colon cancer.
Bruce Mitchell and Anna Ribbeck are together for a second season. Rounding out the crew during the premiere on January 7 are LeRon Jones and cousin Anthony “Porkchop” Williams and Don Brewer and Troy’s nephew Calum. Ahead of the January 4 of the History Channel series, we sat down with the show’s executive producer Brian Catalina to preview what’s to come.
Here we are going into Season 17. Talk about what stands out this time around as the hunters face an ever-changing environment.
Brian Catalina: The really interesting thing to me about this season is it’s the first time that the environment in Louisiana is really being impacted by what is going on in other states. We’ve had seasons where the water is low and seasons where the water is high. The water of the Atchafalaya Basin is coming from the Mississippi straight up the country. A lot of water from other states finds its way down from the Mississippi to the gulf. This year, because of the weather conditions across the country, there is an extraordinary amount of sudden and very intense rainstorms. When that rain comes in really huge quantities, it has more of a tendency to get washed over into the tributaries and ultimately into the Mississippi. Due to the intensity and frequency of these activities, the water was like a rollercoaster this year down here. It was up one day and down the next, up two days later, and really no way to know what’s going to happen. If the local weather is impacting the water level, you have some heads up on it and know it’s coming. In this case, it was really unpredictable on a day-to-day basis.
Sounds like the conditions certainly don’t make things easy for them.
When it comes to alligator hunting, that is a super big deal. The water levels impact where the animals are going to be. When the water level is low, most of the alligators have to confine themselves to the main waterways and it concentrates them, they’re easier to find, and ultimately, easier to hunt. However, when the water level is high, the water spreads out of course as it gets higher and that allows the alligators to spread out a lot more. That makes the hunting a lot more challenging.
The water impacts access. When you hang bait, chicken on a hook, you’re trained to hang it maybe a foot or so above water. That’s the ideal height to entice an alligator to take it. But if the water comes up two feet overnight, your bait is submerged and the alligator isn’t even going to find it.
Little Willie/History Channel
This season is a hard one for “Little Willie” to get through after losing his pawpaw weeks before filming. What do you remember about him?
Junior Edwards was one of the original cast members on the show. He was on Season 1 and many seasons after. He was such a fixture for so many years. He was the guy who basically invented treble hooking. You see a lot of people doing it now, but when we first started making the show, nobody else treble hooked. He was really a legend on the swamp and a bigger than life character for sure. “Little Willie” is the next generation and that was his pawpaw. His daddy is a really accomplished alligator hunter as well. He really held his pawpaw in really high esteem. He was a legend and taught him how to treble hook. He invited the treble hook. There was a lot that he brought to the Edwards name.
“Little Willie” is a very traditional young man. He takes Edwards’ name seriously and takes his legacy very seriously. When he lost his pawpaw right before the show, it was really devastating for him. I think one way for him to process and express his grief was to dedicate the season to his pawpaw. He is a deeply religious young man and he really felt his pawpaw was with him throughout the season. I’m pretty close to “Little Willie.” He is a really great young man. He reminds me of my son, who is also like a big kid. I really relate to him. He really wanted to honor his pawpaw and the best way to do that was to shine with the treble hook and be a real asset to Jacob this year.
Pickle also just had a baby right before coming back, right?
Yeah, we might have to rename her Superwoman. She is really an amazing woman. It’s hard to tell from television, but she is not a big person. She is a very petite lady and extremely tough. She is very strong and capable. She also has a year or two-year-old, and now has a brand-new baby. Even with her mother caring for her children for the day while she hunts, she gets off that boat and her day is just beginning. She is going to go home and you know how kids are. Grandma’s great, but there is no substitute for mama.
She goes home and is a full-time mom. She is breastfeeding her newborn. She is pumping on the boat. We don’t spend a lot of time on that on the show, but she is very open about all of it. It wasn’t a secret. She was proud of what she was doing. It’s enough to be a mother to begin with. That’s a really big job, even under the best of circumstances. But here is a mother who is getting up at 3 a.m. and literally going out with the toughest alligator hunter in Louisiana the “King of the Swamp” and trying to meet his expectations. They are running literally hundreds of lines and catching over 800 alligators in a very short window of time. Yet she is still able to go home and take care of her family, get up at night, feed the baby, and do all the things that a great mom like her does and wants to and expects herself to do. Boom, the next day she is back on the boat with a smile on her face ready to work. I don’t know how she does it. She blows me away.
How would you describe her working dynamic with Troy this season? She seemed to have earned his respect at this point.
Troy is a very serious guy. He can be funny and is a lovely man, but when you work with Troy it’s all business. The bar is very high. He has very specific expectations. He has really earned her place on that boat. Over the last 17 seasons, I’ve seen several deckhands come and go on Troy’s boat. I don’t think any of them has ever met his expectations the way Pickle has been able to do. He is a father and knows what it takes for small children. He is very aware of the role she plays as a mother and as a deckhand and does that double-duty. Their relationship has really grown as a father-daughter relationship. He has three sons, but he never had any daughters. She is kind of the daughter he never knew he wanted.
Their relationships have grown on that level. I know for a fact he has a tremendous respect for her. One of the interesting things I think is new is Pickle is starting to confide with the audience about who Troy really is. He is an old school guy. He is a Gary Cooper-style man. He doesn’t complain or share his feelings much and is a pretty tough and a pretty rough guy. She kind of provides us with a window to the other side of Troy we don’t see outwardly. It’s very interesting to hear what she has to say about Troy as the season unfolds. You really get to know Troy on an all new level this year based on what Pickle is able to share with us.
Is there anyone to look out for or maybe break out this season?
Troy has a nephew named Calum, who is now hunting with Don for his second year. Calum was kind of shy at first and is a very polite young man, as the Cajun way is. He came out of his shell this year and really shined a lot more. I find him to be a terrific character to track with these adventures with Don. Those two together are quite a pair. Don is a bit of a character to begin with, but with Calum in the boat with him there is a lot of adventures to go on. They almost see each other as these swamp misfits in a way. They do get their work done and deliver for Troy, but there seem to be a lot of misadventures that come their way, which I find very entertaining.
There is a lot of pressure to deliver within a 30-day period in this line of work. How would you describe the season?
It’s a race against the clock right from the get-go, which I think makes it such a compelling show. That’s baked in the world in the scenario with the water high one day and low the next. It really just adds to the pressure and creates stakes inherently in every situation that mother nature is throwing at them. It’s a pretty intense season this year. Maybe one of our most ever.
Swamp People Season 17 premiere, January 7, 8/7c, History Channel