Wicked Tuna Spinoff to be Filmed Off Coast of Outer Banks This Winter

On Friday, the National Geographic Channel announced a new spinoff series from the cable networks hit show Wicked Tuna . The new series, Wicked Tuna: North vs. South (working title), will be a competition between the guys of the original series and the fisherman of the Outer Banks of North Carolina.The original Wicked Tuna series follows the cutthroat, high-stakes business of bluefin tuna fishing in Gloucester, Massachusetts, as fishing crews try to catch one of the smartest fastest, and most elusive fishing in the ocean (and the big money that follows them). Although the bluefin season came to an end in Gloucester on December 31st, it’s just about to get started in the Outer Banks.The show will be produced by Craig Piligian’s Pilgrim Studios , which is behind the original series, and the spinoff will begin filming off the coast of the Outer Banks this winter. The show is set to premier in the U.S. and globally this summer on the National Geographic Channel.The cast for the spinoff includes Wicked Tuna fan-favorites Hard Merchandise captain Dave Marciano and Hot Tuna captain T.J. Ott who will battle the local Outer Banks fisherman for bluefin tuna supremacy.The weather is highly volatile off North Carolina’s coast during it's January through March bluefin season, and the seas can be extremely rough. But if the captains can battle through the wind, waves, and sometimes heavy rain before the government catch quota is reached (the quota was reached mid-February last year), the winter months could potentially yield a greater catch off the coast of the Outer Banks compared to Massachusetts.“ Wicked Tuna is one of our strongest franchises, and taking our tuna fishermen down South allows us to explore a new region of America and new waters in the Atlantic,” said National Geographic Channel president Howard T. Owens. “We are taking the best New England fishermen from Gloucester to the Outer Banks to see how they fare against good old Southern boys who fish the old-fashioned way off the beautiful shores of this epic country.”Additionally, Nat Geo has set a premier date for Season 3 of Wicked Tuna on February 16 on the National Geographic Channel and Nat Geo Mundo, and premiering on the National Geographic Channel internationally in March.Season 2 of Wicked Tuna averaged a 0.6 in adults 25-54, up +23% from Season 1, and 976,000 total viewers.