Animal Planet's GATOR BOYS Season 2 to Premiere 1/6

In its first hit season, Animal Planet introduced viewers to the GATOR BOYS - Paul Bedard and Jimmy Riffle - two men who defy death by capturing alligators with their bare hands. The series drew in nearly one million viewers who watched wide eyed as Paul and Jimmy wrangled ornery Florida gators and rescued countless reptiles from master bedrooms, swimming pools and outdoor cafés. Now in season two, Paul and Jimmy take on Mississippi, beginning Sunday, January 6, at 9pm ET/PT, and face treacherous terrain, deadly sinkholes, gun-toting locals and the biggest, most ferocious alligators they may ever encounter!

While their Florida rescue location undergoes a major renovation, Paul and Jimmy lend their expertise to some Southern friends and teach Mississippians the art of gator wrestling. Paul and Jimmy are fishes out of water in these swamplands and quickly learn that these gators won't be showing them any Southern hospitality - the reptiles are bigger and meaner, which means the captures are going to get even wilder! And the humans who Paul and Jimmy encounter aren't much milder; often a Mississippian's solution to an unruly alligator is a smoking bullet, and the GATOR BOYS have to step in to get the gators out alive.

There's no question it takes serious skill to do what the GATOR BOYS do. Paul is known for his commanding personality and unmatched skill capturing any-sized gator underwater with his bare hands. And Jimmy has been gator wrestling since he was 11 years old, giving him the ability to stay quick on his (bare) feet and handle dangerous reptiles with ease. Despite the change in scenery, the men and women of GATOR BOYS continue to do the thrilling work that they are meant to: defending blameless wildlife displaced by urban sprawl and keeping people safe. With 30 years of wild-animal experience between them and a long personal history, Paul and Jimmy are like brothers - meaning they don't always see eye to eye! Sometimes wrangling an eight-foot gator is the easy part!

In the sophomore season of GATOR BOYS, viewers witness the following scenarios:

· When Paul hears the story of a legendary 15-foot alligator lurking in the swamps, he makes it the Gator Boys' mission to bring the mythic alligator back home to the ranch where it will be safe from hunters and trappers.

· After Jimmy convinces his girlfriend, Sara, to move to Mississippi with him the long hours combined with the shock of living in a swamp seriously muck up their relationship. Is the move breaking them apart?

· Lovable Tre has a scary run in with a swamp gator that lands him in the emergency room; this gives the team a big scare and a wake-up call!

GATOR BOYS is produced by Mike Mathis Productions. Dawn Sinsel is Executive Producer for Animal Planet. Mike Mathis, Brian Puterman and Eric Streit are Executive Producers for Mike Mathis Productions.

Animal Planet Media (APM), a multi-media business unit of Discovery Communications, is the world's only entertainment brand that immerses viewers in the full range of life in the animal kingdom with rich, deep content via multiple platforms and offers animal lovers and pet owners access to a centralized online, television and mobile community for immersive, engaging, high-quality entertainment, information and enrichment. APM consists of the Animal Planet television network, available in more than 96 million homes in the US; online assets www.animalplanet.com, the ultimate online destination for all things animal; the 24/7 broadband channel, Animal Planet Beyond; Petfinder.com, the #1 pet-related Web property globally that facilitates pet adoption; and other media platforms including a robust Video-on-Demand (VOD) service; mobile content; and merchandising extensions.