Animal Planet spins off “Whale Wars,” hires “Rat Busters”

July 26, 2011 by Adam Benzine

American cable net Animal Planet has commissioned The Faroe Island Project, a spin-off of its hit series Whale Wars, set in Northern Europe.

Produced by The Lizard Trading Company, the series – which does not yet have an airdate or confirmed episode numbers – will follow the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society’s campaign to stop the annual pilot whale kill known as ‘The Grind’ in the Danish Protectorate of the Faroe Islands.

The project began shooting on July 15, with filming due to continue through to the end of the Sea Shepherd’s ‘Operation Ferocious Isles’ campaign.

“For the last four years, Whale Wars has been riveting television because of the passion of the Sea Shepherds, the risks they take to save the lives of whales, and the magnificent and dangerous beauty of the Southern Ocean,” said Marjorie Kaplan, president and general manager of Animal Planet.

“Now they are once again preparing to put their lives on the line, this time in a lush and unfamiliar corner of northern Europe, where the customs are different and the killing of whales continues. And we plan be there to document every moment.”

Liz Bronstein is the exec producer at The Lizard Trading Company and Lisa Lucas is the exec producer with Animal Planet. Marc Etkind is the VP of development for Animal Planet.

In related news, Animal Planet has unveiled further details for Rat Busters NYC, a six-part reality series following employees at the New York City- and Long Island-based company Magic Exterminating.

The series launches August 26 at 10 p.m. EST, and follows service managers Jimmy and Michael, “a comedic dynamic duo with a brother-like kinship, as they tackle rat families bigger than their own, and other metropolitan pests like roaches, mice, bedbugs, raccoons and pigeons,” according to the network.

Rat Busters NYC is produced by Optomen Productions. Steve McLaughlin, Nicola Moody and Dominic Stobart are executive producers for Optomen, while Erin Wanner is exec producer for Animal Planet. The network’s VP of development for the project is Charlie Foley.

Tags: Animal Planet, Optomen Productions, Rat Busters NYC, The Faroe Island Project, The Lizard Trading Company, Whale Wars

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