'Moonshiners' Returns With a Brand New Season, and Business Is Booming Despite Pandemic (Exclusive)

An all-new season of Moonshiners premieres later this month on Discovery, and it looks like business is booming in the Appalachian backwoods. In an exclusive first look at the trailer, the moonshiners seem to be thriving in an era of social distance, disrupted supply chains and the need for stiff drinks.

Moonshiners is going into its tenth season this fall, and business has never been better. The show returns on Tuesday, Nov. 24 at 8 p.m. ET on Discovery, with a special two-hour episode to kick things off. As the trailer shows, the outlaw distillers do not find it hard to adjust to life with self-isolation, face masks and self-reliance. In fact, they seem pleasantly surprised by their new circumstances, considering that their customers are in need of a strong drink in 2020.

Even more surprises are in store in the new season of Moonshiners, according to Discovery. Picking up earlier in the year, the show will document how the disrupted supply chain in March actually profited its stars. They found themselves with an excess of raw materials to distill, including grains, fruits and other flavor enhancers. "As only backwoods shiners will know, hard times make the best shine!"

Tim, Tickle, Mark, Digger, Josh and the other moonshiners are also quick to note that local law enforcement seems too "distracted" to follow their movements, which may be good for a sales boom like this. Over the course of the season, the distillers will reportedly "develop new recipes by building bigger stills and taking bigger risks than ever before."

Moonshiners has become one of Discovery's most beloved shows, following its subjects since 2011 as they attempt to fly under the radar with their amateur liquor production. While the show's producers maintain that it is all real, Virginia authorities have claimed that the series is just "a dramatization." However, looking at the new teaser, it is hard not to feel the palpable tension.

Moonshiners has featured as many as 22 different distillers over the years, and a few law enforcement officers as well. From the looks of it, this season will focus on some of the long-time participants, with an emphasis on their adjustments to a changing world. Even deep in the woods of Appalachia, the coronavirus pandemic has touched every walk of life one way or another.

The new season of Moonshiners premieres on Tuesday, Nov. 24 at 8 p.m. ET on Discovery. The first episode will be two hours long, and Discovery will be live-tweeting the whole event, with coverage on Facebook and Instagram as well.