Richard Froese
South Peace News
Big Lakes County will get some air time in an upcoming television series filmed in northern Alberta and aired around the world.
At its regular meeting April 9, council approved a motion to approve a marketing opportunity for $5,000 for a joint project with Nature Alive Adventures Inc. and Western Directives Inc.
A reality television series 72 Hours to Survive filmed in northern Alberta is planned for the coming months and aired on Wild TV starting in fall 2026, says Joe Zdeb, director of corporate services for Big Lakes.
One episode is planned to focus on Big Lakes, he notes.
Tim McKort is the owner and producer of A Little Late Films and is excited about the project.
“We offer Big Lakes County the opportunity to be one of the key locations – shooting in September 2025 in an area of your choice,” McKort writes in a letter to Big Lakes.
The show will be hosted by adventurist- survivalist Dale Kiselynk, of Woodlands County around Whitecourt.
Each episode will focus on six different ways a person may be lost in the wilderness: snowmobiling, hiking, mountain biking, canoeing, hunting, and driving all-terrain vehicles.
“Dale will spend 72 hours in various environments demonstrating the best way to be rescued,” McKort says.
The show is broadcast nationally and will be distributed internationally through Bayview Entertainment to a worldwide audience.
Big Lakes will also get a 15-second commercial, which will be attached to one episode of the series, but will play over to an audience of 2.2 million subscribers – a large number in Alberta, he says.
Grouard Councillor Jeff Chalifoux says the worldwide exposure will benefit the region.
“It’s a wonderful idea and will promote Big Lakes County,” Chalifoux says.
“It will be good for economic development,” he adds.
Wild TV plans to run the 13-week run within the next two years, vice-president Scott Stirling writes in a letter to council.
“72 Hours to Survive will receive a prime-time anchor slot – 6-11 p.m. Monday to Sunday,” Stirling says.
Initially the show will be a six-part series, he says.
“In addition to our linear channel, we will be adding 72 Hours to Survive to our streaming service Wild TV Plus,” Stirling says.
“WTV+ is available worldwide and 72 Hours to Survive will be a welcome addition to our line-up of more than 14,000 television episodes already on WTV+.”
He says the network is optimistic the new series will be a big hit.
“We are confident 72 Hours to Survive will meet or exceed our requirements to be included in the Wild TV line-up,” Stirling says.