Between filming and wrangling gators, the stars of Swamp People truly work two jobs in one day. And while the hunters make it look easy from their frequent victories, in reality, it’s a tough schedule to manage. Just with gator hunting alone, the stars have to prep their equipment, obtain their tags, dress and gut their game and manage their boats.
On top of all of these tasks, they also have to take direction from the camera crews, film additional shots, refilm moments that didn’t make it to camera and record confessionals in the aftermath. That’s no longer a nine-to-five job. That’s a 24/7 kind of job.
Thankfully, in this respect, the gator season for the cast of Swamp People only lasts a month. During this month, though, the stars are firing on all cylinders, trying to tag out for the season and receive their pay from the History channel.
One Swamp People star in particular described the toll that filming can take on a gator hunter. According to his interview with BassMaster, T-Roy Broussard explained that a typical production day begins at 4 a.m. If he’s lucky, he makes it to bed at or after midnight then wakes up at the same unbelievably early time to do it all again.
“It’s not our normal rhythm when we’re hunting,” the Swamp People star said. “But it’s also made for television and we have to make adjustments because of the camera angles and all of the production elements.”
Contrary to how it appears on screen, Broussard added that filming slows down his day on the water. In order to get as many tags as he can, the Swamp People star ends up spending more time on his boat than he would if he were hunting without the production crew.
‘Swamp People’ Star Begins Prepping for Gator Season a Month Prior
While gator season in southeast Texas only runs through September, the Swamp People star also shared that the show and hunting take up more time out of the year than just one month. Broussard explained that he begins preparing for the show in August, and even then, he still feels stressed.
“It’s a lot like preparing for a tournament season,” the Swamp People star shared. “Except I have five counties to cover and drive over 200 miles a day in a truck to get to my lines.”
It’s not like Broussard works a laid-back job the rest of the year, either. As the Port Arthur Fire Department captain, it seems the Swamp People star deals with stress and danger year-round. Although, when Broussard does have a bit of downtime, he spends it on his crab boat in the Gulf of Mexico.
Perhaps with all of his experience with filming and fishing, Broussard just might join the Deadliest Catch crews in Alaska, too.
