Interview with Kathryn Deyerle, Executive Producer, Jack Hanna's Animal Adventures

What exactly does an Executive Producer do?

Great question. I think there are a couple different types of Executive Producers but generally what J.R. and I do is oversee the whole show from beginning to end, making sure that the show falls in line with the objectives of the program in general. That is: the FCC ruling, the Children's Television Act, the Family Programming parameters and that it stays entertaining and educational.

Kathryn Deyerle and J.R. Johnson, Exec. Producers, Jack Hanna's Animal Adventures

Animal Adventures has evolved a bit over its many seasons. What do you think are some of the more exciting changes taking place in the show today?

There's no question, it's the locations that we're going to now. They're much more exciting and exotic. We've always been to fun locations in the United States but exotic animals in their natural habitat are not necessarily in the U.S. The success of the show has enabled us to take our viewers outside of the country to places that they might not be able to see. Some of these locations are becoming extinct due to different factors, whether it's people or progress or whatever.

What can we expect to see this season on Jack Hanna's Animal Adventures?

1999-2000 will bring lots of fascinating African shows, and from Australia and Alaska. We're thinking of then going to Borneo, to China perhaps - really, just lots of fun different places. We're still doing a lot of exciting things in the United States - really out of the way places that people might not be aware exist. Each season brings us more and more excitement.

The show visited Alaska last year and now a year later you've returned. Was the feeling that you had only scratched the surface of what Alaska has to offer?

Absolutely. When we came last year we went to Glacier Bay and we were filming the animals from that perspective. We were looking for bears at that time but were unable to locate much to speak of. We came here for the bear viewing. We timed the trip to hit the peak and we're having tremendous success. There are tons of bears here.