busy as a bee
New Braunfels beekeeper generates national attention with new buzzworthy PBS reality show
A local beekeeper is about to generate some national buzz.
Charlie Bee Company, a reality TV show starring New Braunfels beekeeper and bee removal specialist Charlie Agar, just debuted on KLRU, Austin’s PBS affiliate. And this spring, the series is set to air nationwide on PBS stations.
The eight one-hour episodes of Charlie Bee Company track Agar as he goes about his work along the Austin-San Antonio corridor.
“People are just now beginning to understand how important bees are to the ecosystem, and I’m so excited to share my love for all things bees and beekeeping,” Agar says in a news release. “We had an absolute blast making this show.”
Austin-based Iniosante Studios developed the series. The genesis of the show was a 2017 meeting between Agar and wildlife documentary filmmaker Ashley Scott Davison, executive producer at Iniosante.
“The first time we followed Charlie on one of his bee removals, I got stung more than 20 times,” Davison recalls. “I was literally pulling stingers out of my leg. I knew right there we had a show that people would be glued to.”
Davison and his crew followed Agar for more than a year. Aside from Agar’s exploits, the show includes interviews with university researchers, behind-the-scenes looks at commercial beekeeping operations, and the rescue of a bee hive during a Texas Gulf Coast hurricane.
“What we like about the show is that it’s educational and there is a message about protecting pollinators, but it’s also just downright fun and entertaining,” says David Lauderman, director of programming at KLRU.
To watch a preview of the series, visit the Vimeo website.
