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Neither Eric nor Shannon Evangelista have had the career paths you would expect from a major player in nonfiction TV.

The former spent 14 years as a broadcast news reporter and newspaper journalist; the latter started her career as a federal criminal defense attorney, working in District Attorney offices from Manhattan to Orange County. But it’s precisely this background that helps the Hot Snakes Media co-owners stand out from the pack, particularly with true crime projects like Investigation Discovery’s buzzy “The Curious Case of Natalia Grace.”

“I was turned down for showrunning jobs at Discovery Channel a year before we started ‘Breaking Amish’ and ‘Amish Mafia,’ which were our first two shows and were record-breaking ratings successes for Discovery,” Eric Evangelista told TheWrap.

Since that pair of 2012 breakouts, Hot Snakes Media has been a production company behind other hit shows like Netflix’s “Deaf U,” VH1’s “My True...

Oh, Hell Yes! Our favorite Amish Mafia guy is actually joining C-Pod!! I can’t wait to learn his name or find out what he’s in for. Read more of our 60 Days In recaps here! Episode 3 of A&E’s 60 Days In, “Cell Shock,” starts pretty much as expected. “Robert is doing everything wrong,” says Capt. Scottie Maples. Robert is an imbecile, or at least he plays one on TV. Robert’s a danger to himself and anyone who befriends him, like poor, poor DIAUNDRé here, who just wanted to eat his meal in peace like a female but instead gets socked … Continue reading →

The post A&E’s 60 Days In “Cell Shock” recap: Show us your tots! appeared first on Channel Guide Magazine.

In Episode 2 of A&E’s 60 Days In, “First Timers,” the plot thickens, Zac’s just chillin’ and Robert’s booty tightens as his cover story falls apart. Read more of our 60 Days In recaps here! I love this guy. He looks like a less resourceful member of the Amish Mafia. I we get to check in on him every episode. Let’s see how our volunteer prisoners are doing this week. Zac’s pretty good at this jail thing. Maybe a little too good. He’s smart enough to keep his mouth shut. He can keep his story straight. He doesn’t immediately look like … Continue reading →

The post A&E’s 60 Days In “First Timers” recap: Straight Outta D Pod! appeared first on Channel Guide Magazine.

Hot Snakes Media founders Eric and Shannon Evangelista have announced three key hires.

Hal Lewis joins as evp of production, Billy Murphy as vp and creative director and Paul Listro as vp of finance.

The New York-based docu-series television production company has produced Breaking Amish and Amish Mafia, among others.

“Hal, Billy and Paul are the perfect additions to the team,” said Eric and Shannon Evangelista in a joint statement. “We strive to produce captivating entertainment, and their combined experience is indispensable as we continue to build our brand.”

Lewis (pictured, top left) is an award-winning television executive, with more than 25 years of experience in physical production who has worked on the likes of Brother vs. Brother, Food Network Star and 24 Hour Restaurant Battle.

Murphy (pictured, top right) is an Emmy Award-winning editor and producer who has plied his trade on Trl, Made, My Super Sweet 16 and Mob Wives.

Listro had worked...

The Us Patent & Trademark Office's decision this week to cancel the "Redskins" mark as disparaging to Native Americans got huge attention. Meanwhile, Discovery Communications is asking the Trademark Office to reconsider a trademark examiner's refusal a few months ago to register the title of a popular TV show for pretty much the same reason. On December 17, the Pto's Kim Moninghoff wrote in a rejection letter: "Because the Amish doctrine of nonresistance prohibits members of the Amish religious sect from engaging in violence, even for law enforcement purposes, the mark wording Amish Mafia, which conveys the idea that members

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In this exclusive clip from this week's episode of "Amish Mafia" (Tuesdays at 9:00 p.m. on Discovery), Esther Schmucker makes a horrifying revelation. Warning: this clip may be difficult to watch. Though she doesn't name her attacker and gives limited details, the ones she does offer -- that she was tortured with a knife, locked in her house, and escaped wearing nothing but a towel -- suggest she was the victim of sexual assault. Last year, Esther was attacked by a non-Amish boyfriend, suffering a fractured nose, face and broken teeth.  Are you watching "Amish Mafia"?     ...

Amish Mafia star Wayne, the muscle of the Ohio Amish Community, took a sledgehammer to a local arcade after learning that the owner was allowing Amish children to play games in the establishment.

Driving over to the arcade, Wayne says, "All they worry about is money. They don't give a s--t about Amish kids and their religion or anything.”

Wayne Visits An Arcade

Once Wayne arrives at the arcade, he enters and is heard speaking Pennsylvania Dutch to the kids playing the games. He says to them, “You aren’t supposed to be in here. You are supposed to be at home with your mother and father. Here. Come. You have to go.” Soon enough, two boys are shown exiting the building.

"You can't have these Amish kids in here participating in this,” Wayne is heard telling the owner. “It's not in their culture and you know that. Do I make myself clear?...

In Tuesday's (March 18) new episode of "Amish Mafia," Wayne pays a visit to the owner of a local arcade that has been allowing Amish kids to play there even though it's against their religion.

Wayne isn't pleased, and in Zap2it's exclusive sneak peek of the episode, he takes the English owner to task. "All they worry about is money. They don't give a s*** about Amish kids and their religion or anything," he says in the car on his way there.

"You can't have these Amish kids in here participating in this. It's not in their culture and you know that. Do I make myself clear? I'm not asking you, I'm telling you," he tells the owner, but when the owner doesn't agree to kick out the Amish kids, Wayne goes nuts with a sledge hammer and smashes all the arcade games.

"Amish Mafia" airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m.

We all know the old saw about how we should keep friends close and enemies closer. In this week's episode of "Amish Mafia (Tues. March 4 at 9:00 p.m. Et on Discovery), we get an addendum: keep your frenemies' girlfriends even closer. In this exclusive clip, Merlin discusses how he plans to get cozy with Wayne's secret girlfriend.  It turns out that a buggy ride means different things to different people. To most of us, it's a scenic way to get from point A to point B. To the Amish, it's just short of having sex on a parked car. Merlin makes a move which isn't well-received because, um, Karrie thinks she's just going for a buggy ride, duh.  Are you watching "Amish Mafia"?...

Discovery Channel’s “Amish Mafia” returns for a new season on Tuesday amid bitter wars for power and territory. While Levi struggles to keep outside forces from infiltrating the Amish community in Lancaster, Pa., Merlin’s eye is on winning back Holmes County, Ohio. To do so, he sets his sites toward recruiting dangerous new “foot soldiers.” See video: Discovery’s ‘Bering Sea Gold’ Preview: Things Unravel as Sean Finds ‘Puddles of Gold’ In TheWrap’s exclusive preview, Merlin reaches out to Ruck. He’s clearly got an ax to grind after being shunned by the community for some time...

Discovery Channel’s “Amish Mafia” returns on Tuesday, February 25 at 9/8c. Lebanon Levi and his guys return for Season 2, which continues to look inside their efforts to keep order in the Lancaster, Pa. community. According to the network, Levi’s power is threatened from both inside the secretive Amish community and outside of it. He’ll be forced to expand his influence into other parts of the country or have it be taken away from him. Also read: Discovery Orders Risky International Car Hunting Series ‘Chrome Underground’ (Exclusive) Here’s more on Season 2 from Discovery: For the first time, Esther...

The date for the "Amish Mafia" Christmas special, "A Very Amish Christmas," has been set for Dec. 10 at 10 p.m. on the Discovery Channel. I'm new to the Amish Mafia party. Apparently the Amish do not like Santa Claus, and if an Amish man brings you a goat, you're his chosen beloved. I thought all they did was raise barns and can and cook! But Christmas just can’t be Christmas without Lebanon Levi King Stoltzfus bringing Esther Freeman Schmucker a goat to show how he feels. She's blown away in an Amish low key way. Jolin Zimmerman, a Mennonite, a huge, ornery, mallet wielding neckless woman named Mary and Merlin Miller are the colorful characters who...

"Amish Mafia" star Esther Schmucker has come out of hiding -- revealing her bruised and battered face in public for the first time since her boyfriend allegedly used it as a punching bag.Schmucker was sporting a seriously black eye as she went out on a shopping run ... but she didn't have much to say, telling a photographer, "I don't feel like talking to anybody."As we reported ... the beatdown left Schmucker with a broken...

The boyfriend of "Amish Mafia" star Esther Schmucker is locked up in a Pennsylvania prison for allegedly using the reality star's face as a punching bag ... and then trying to shut her up. Imir R. Williams was captured by a police task force in Lancaster, Pa this morning ... he'd been hiding out since Sunday when cops named him the suspect in Esther's beating -- which left her with a broken nose and cheekbone. Schmucker...

A star of Discovery Channel’s reality series “Amish Mafia” has allegedly been beaten brutally by her boyfriend, who is currently at large. Esther Schmucker, 27, suffered numerous injuries during the alleged attack early Halloween morning in Strasburg, Penn., including a fractured cheekbone, a broken nose and multiple broken teeth, Strousberg Police Department confirmed to TheWrap. Also read: Sam Shepard Starring in ‘Klondike’ for Discovery Channel The alleged assailant, Imir R. Williams, 24, is at large, and either believed to be in Lancaster, Penn., or New Jersey. Williams, who stands 6 feet four inches and weighs approximately 210 pounds, is not a cast member.

"Amish Mafia" star Esther Schmucker was allegedly beaten to a pulp by her boyfriend last week in Pennsylvania -- suffering a facial fracture, broken nose, and more -- and now police are trying to track the man down.According to reports, cops in Strasburg, Pa issued a felony arrest warrant for 24-year-old Imir R. Williams on Sunday. Williams has been charged with felony aggravated assault in connection with the alleged beating.Police claim Williams attacked 27-year-old Schmucker early Halloween morning,...

Everything Amish is hot right now. From their well-crafted cabinets to reality shows like Amish Mafia and the Breaking Amish franchise, America is mildly-obsessed with the Amish way of life, and now, a familiar face is going deep into the heart of Amish country to raise some… barns. Word to your mother (and everyone else), Vanilla Ice is going Amish for the Diy Network in the aptly titled, Vanilla Ice Goes Amish, and now it has a release date.

The series, which was first announced back in April, will debut on October 12th and feature rapper-turned -home-renovation guru Rob Van Winkle (aka Vanilla Ice) as he casts aside the power tools and modern conveniences to learn what it is ...

Click to continue reading ‘Vanilla Ice Project’ Season 4 Replaced with ‘Vanilla Ice Goes Amish’...

Labor Day weekend is here for 2013 and if you don't have any plans, there are plenty of great shows to check out over the weekend. You can catch up on "Continuum" Season 2 on Syfy, or watch the first three episodes of "The White Queen" on Starz. Sunday, Sept. 1 there's a killer Alfred Hitchcock movie marathon running all day on TCM.

Also, it's college football kick-off weekend, so settle in Saturday for the guys' returning to the gridiron.

Set your DVRs and check your local listings for times and channel numbers. All times Eastern below.

Friday, Aug. 30

A&E: "Shipping Wars" and "Storage Wars" marathon, 9 a.m. to 11 p.m.

The CW: New "America's Next Top Model" episode, 9 p.m.

Discovery: "Alaskan Steel Men" premiere, 10 p.m.

Espn: Cfb, Texas Tech at Southern Methodist, 8 p.m.

Espn 2: 2013 U.S. Open Tennis, men's second and women's third round, 1 p.m. to 7 p.

Drinking and driving is a serious crime and a serious danger no matter where you are. On the latest episode of "Amish Mafia," we learned about Bui -- buggying under the influence. Drinking and driving can be just as dangerous on a horse-drawn buggy, and you can get in serious trouble.

“BUIs are actually a lot more dangerous than they sound," said Jolin

Merlin agreed, saying, “A horse usually knows how to find its way home, but it can’t read stop signs.”

One of the reasons the Amish community takes this problem so seriously is because horses are a major investment in an Amish family. The issue came to light when Levi and his men discovered a guy called "Crazy Dave" passed out drunk in his buggy. he was carted off to Amish rehab -- this is apparently being forced to sit in an attic and read the Bible for days on end.

"Amish Mafia" returned for a second season, and Lebanon Levi proved that he was still determined to keep modern technology out of his Amish community. In fact, he's so committed to this cause that he would have his men commit rather extreme acts of violence in order to ensure the technology doesn't get in.

In this premiere, a man showed up and was selling prepaid cell phones, tablets and laptops to the Amish youth from the back of his vehicle. So Levi sent out Caleb, one of his guys, to take care of the problem. And Caleb did just that, using rather extreme measures.

“You’re not allowed to do this! You know that!"Caleb shouted at the man. "The Amish community doesn’t appreciate it. Lebanon Levi doesn’t tolerate it. Guess what? They’re not going to f*cking buy it anymore.” With this declaration, Caleb started tossing...

Amish Mafia cast member Alan Beiler has been sentenced to several months in prison, according to The Associated Press.

Beiler, 35, was sentenced in the Perry County, Pa. court to three to 23 months in prison for leading police on a chase that injured a state trooper. According to police, after trying to stop Beiler for an expired car registration, he drove against traffic which lead to a pursuit that caused the state trooper to crash and get a concussion.

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The Amish Mafia couldn't protect Alan Beiler from the law. The 35-year-old Amish Mafia star was sentenced to prison on Thursday, Aug. 8. According to The Associated Press, Beiler received a 3 to 23-month prison sentence after leading police on a car chase in Pennsylvania last summer. The Lancaster County resident reportedly refused to pull over for police when they tried to stop him for an expired car registration. Police claim Beiler drove against traffic, causing one state trooper to crash and suffer a concussion during the [...]...

This Amish Mafia star is getting put behind bars. Star of the Discovery Channel TV show Alan Beiler, 35, was sentenced to three to 23 months in prison today in Perry County Court, after injuring a state trooper while leading police on a car chase in Pennsylvania last summer, according to reports. Beiler pleaded guilty in May to charges of attempting to elude police, drug possession and driving with a suspended license. Police were trying to stop the Lancaster County resident for an expired car registration before being led on a chase. They say Beiler drove against traffic and caused a pursuing state trooper to crash and suffer a concussion. Beiler's attorney Mark Forrest Walmer says his client...

Amish Mafia Season 2 slated to begin Tuesday, Aug. 13 at 9pm Et/Pt The Discovery Channel docuseries that puts the spotlight on the “risky underbelly” of the so-called Amish Mafia returns next month. The series was one of Discovery’s highest rated freshman series ever, and certainly a topic that generated plenty of crazed comments on the personalities involved. In Season 2 Lebanon Levi and his team of enforcers are back to preserve the peace in their Lancaster, Pa, community, however, not without some serious drama and bullying. Press materials detail that the new season will find Levi continuing to maintain [...]

The post Amish Mafia Season 2 begins August 13, 2013 appeared first on Channel Guide Magazine.

Matthew Kelly has been promoted VP Development and Production at Discovery Channel. He will report to Evp Development and Production Dolores Gavin and work out of Discovery Communications’ Silver Spring, MD headquarters. Kelly was most recently Senior Director of Development, where he developed programming including Gold Rush, Jungle Gold and Yukon Men. He also developed and co-executive produced Amish Mafia. Before that he was Director of Development at Science Channel.

This makes us miss Bear Grylls… Among the new shows Discovery will announce later today at its Upfront presentation to advertisers in New York are two survival series in which clothing is not included. Each episode of Naked and Afraid will strand a new pair of strangers in one of the world’s harshest environments with no food, no water, no tools, and no clothes. “As their extreme survival skills are put to the test for 21 days, each couple must battle the elements, each other, and their own inner weakness to triumph over the terrain and their predicament,” the press release promises.

Discovery Channel has promoted Dolores Gavin to Evp of Development and Production, East. Gavin, previously Svp, will continue to oversee all aspects of Discovery Channel’s development and programming that originate from the network’s east coast offices, reporting to Eileen O’Neill, Group President Discovery and TLC Networks. “Dolores has been an essential component in the success of our most popular series,” said O’Neill. “She is insightful and incredibly passionate about the business of making compelling television.” Since joining Discovery Channel in 2010, Gavin, who is based in Silver Spring, MD, has developed such popular series as Gold Rush, Flying Wild Alaska, Moonshiners and Amish Mafia. Additionally, she developed the network’s first scripted project, a mini-series based on Charlotte Gray’s novel Gold Diggers: Striking It Rich In The Klondike, which begins production in March. Before joining Discovery, Gavin was VP of Development and Programming at History Channel.

"Amish Mafia" may be over, but the cast came together for "The Reckoning" special to talk more about the show and their experiences in the Amish community. One bombshell they dropped goes against everything outsiders would think about the Amish and their lives.

The cast revealed that there is rampant drug use among the Amish. "I think it’s honestly easier for an Amish guy to be doing drugs, because they’re more secretive about everything else anyway," Jolin explained. "They don’t let the outside world know what they’re doing.

"A lot of Amish kids do coke," Alan detailed. "And there’s a lot of marijuana, and crystal meth has taken over at this point right now." So it sounds like the Amish community is into the same kinds of drugs as the non-Amish drug-using community.

Commonality!

TV Replay scours the vast television landscape to find the most interesting,...

"Amish Mafia" wrapped its first season amid some of the same rumors that plagued "Breaking Amish." Once again, a show about the Amish is being considered fake by several media outlets.

One thing that definitely was not fake was Esther's decision to let loose in a very non-traditional way. After ending things with Levi, she needed to blow off some steam, so she decided to ride a mechanical bull.

"A good little Amish girl would never ride a mechanical bull," she said. "It’s probably one of the most unladylike things you can do."

But she did it and appeared to be having almost as much fun as the spectators were upon seeing her in her traditional Amish garb rocking and rolling with the mechanical beast.

TV Replay scours the vast television landscape to find the most interesting, amusing, and, on a good day, amazing moments, and delivers them right to your browser.

It's as unusual as it sounds. On the latest installment of "Amish Mafia," the guys put together a drag race. But in true Amish tradition, there were no high-powered sports cars battling it out on the asphalt. They did it with horse-drawn buggies.

While it wasn't perhaps as high-speed as most drag races -- though 40 mph is pretty good in Amish circles -- the battle proved no less competitive. The guys were serious in the competition, and it came down to the wire, with John lamenting that he'd gotten beat out by "half a buggie-length or so" in the second race. He did manage to win the first.

All of this was to help John alleviate a debt to Merlin, who is the head of another "Amish Mafia." According to John, Merlin is like his own boss Lebanon Levi, only "on the eviler side." Merlin was none too pleased after John lost that second match.