The Legend of Shelby the Swamp Man, the Ax Men spinoff following fan-favorite logging crewmember Shelby Stanga, premiered on the History Channel on Tuesday.

The series premiere began with Shelby in quite the predicament, as Hurricane Isaac had recently swamped his houseboat domicile. Aided by boat-broker Martha “Pud’n” Waller, Shelby tries to find a new boat-home for him and his dog Willie in the local town. Unfortunately, none of the boats up for sale meet both his standards and his budget.

In order to get a new floating residence more suited to his needs and means, he has to travel way upriver in the waters near Louisiana’s Lake Pontchartrain. Waller suggests the expedition over drinks at Orlando’s Seafood Restaurant in downtown Madisonville. The catch is: rustic-living Stanga will have to take a commercial plane to get there. He braves the flight with a mixture of curiosity and fear. To get to the flight, Stanga had to ride an escalator – another “modern” convenience foreign to the swamp-logger.

Unlike many reality TV shows The Legend of Shelby the Swamp Man doesn’t seem scripted or contrived. Shelby, completely at home on camera, despite probably never owning one, seems to be pretty much at liberty to say and do as he pleases. It’s hard to imagine the rough around the edges Louisiana rugged man would agree to anything less.

The Legend of Shelby the Swamp Man will return with its second episode Sunday, Aug. 11 at 10/9c.

– Chelsea Regan

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