• Life Below Zero is a documentary series on National Geographic Channel
• Main characters include Sue Aikens, Glenn Villeneuve, Chip and Agnes Hailstone, Andy Bassich, Jessie Holmes and Erik Salitan
• 102 episodes have been broadcasted as of 2018
• Combined net worth of the cast is estimated to be around $1.5 million
• Criticism of the show includes Alaska not being as remote or dangerous as portrayed in the show

 

What is “Life Below Zero”?

Life Below Zero is a documentary television series which follow the lives and daily activities of subsistence hunters who live in the remote areas of Alaska, and seemingly spend all their time just surviving in difficult environmental conditions, including in a temperature often below zero. The series is broadcast on National Geographic Channel and is produced by BBC.

Who Is In The Cast of “Life Below Zero”?

Speaking about the main characters of the series, these include Sue Aikens, a 54 year-old woman and the sole resident of Kavik river camp, located in Northern Alaska, and Glenn Villeneuve, a man who used to live in Burlington, Vermont until 1999, and who now resides alone in Chandlar, located 65 miles north of the Arctic Circle. Other main characters are Chip and Agnes Hailstone, a couple who has seven children and live on the Kobuk River in Noorvik. Agnes is a Native Alaskan, born in Noorvik and has family ties to “the land that extends thousands of years and knowledge”. Other members of the cast are Andy Bassich, who lives on the Yukon River, Jessie Holmes and Erik Salitan.

Who Died on This TV Show?

Luckily, no one from the cast as hdied, but one of its main characters, Sue Aikens, stated that the producer, Aaron Mellman “strong-armed her into a variety of hazardous scenarios”, adding that the only reason why he did it was to create drama for the show. One of the incidents she mentioned was when he asked her to expose her face, despite an extremely cold windchill, because he wanted the audience to see her better.

The Hailstones

An interesting segment of the series concerns the Hailstones, Chip and Agnes, who have seven children, including their five daughters and her two sons from a previous marriage. Chip was born as Edward V Hailstone in Kalispell, Montana, in 1969, which means that he is almost 50 years old today. He spent his formative years fishing and doing other outdoor activities, which would help him in his Alaskan life in the future. He visited Alaska at the age of 19 and eventually decided to spend his life in Noorvik, where he later on met a fellow hunter, Agnes whom he would marry. When it comes to Agnes, she was born in 1972, which means that her husband is three years her senior. The couple has five daughters together, named Tinmiaq, Iriqtaq, Mary, Caroline and Qutan. Despite living in a remote part of the world, and being focused on hunting and fishing, the girls haven’t neglected their education, and Iritaq matriculated from high school in 2015, furthermore continuing her education and enrolling into college. She and her sister Mary were both athletes during their time in high school. It is important to mention that Iritaq is a mom already, which make Chip and Agnes grandparents.

Episodes

“Life Below Zero” had its first season in 2013, and is still in the process of being filmed as of 2018. It has had 102 episodes so far, with James Franzo as the narrator. Some of the most prominent episodes include “Unfamiliar Territory”, which follows Sue as she leaves Kavik for the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. In the same episode, Glenn fells a tree near his cabin, and Agnes and three of her daughters go hunting. Other most positively reviewed episodes include “Hell and High Water” and “There Be Monsters”.

Net Worth

So just how rich is the cast of “Life Below Zero”? According to authoritative sources, Sue Aikens has net worth of $500,000, whereas Agnes Hailstone has net worth of $125,000 and her husband Chip $200,000. Andy Bassich and his now ex-wife have a combined net worth of $250,000 and Glenn Villeneuve has accumulated $500,000. Their net worth has mostly been earned from their careers in making the previously mentioned documentary series.

Why is Chip in Prison?

In July 2011, the patriarch of the Hailstone family, Chip, was convicted of providing false information to police officers. He claiming that an Alaskan state trooper physically assaulted his daughter Tinmiaq. According to his interview for “Arctic Sounder”, he stated that the officer held his daughter in a submissive hold after she stretched her arms towards him while talking. In addition to that, Hailstone added that trooper’s actions left his family in deep fear for their lives. As the result of that, he was supposed to spend three years in prison.

Criticism

Despite the effort of the series to picture Alaska as a remote and slightly dangerous place, many have pointed out that Alaska is actually connected with roads and has WiFi as well as many other advances and appliances of the contemporary world. In addition to that, the temperature is not always below the zero, as the show claims.

Movies

Actor

TitleYearStatusCharacter
Life Below Zero2014-2015TV Series

Self

TitleYearStatusCharacter
Life Below Zero2013-2015TV SeriesHimself

Source: IMDb, Wikipedia

45 Comments

  1. Edward Hailstone Reply

    Interesting to read about ”Me” LOL!

    Im not a Felon anymore, anyways and my Felony conviction has been set aside, and Im moving forward with suing/prosecuting the Alaska State Troopers whop tampered with the recordings they indicted and convicted me with.

    Its nice to use a real rifle again , I hope you all enjoy the show!!

    Chip

    • Patrick Cuthbert Reply

      Hi Chip, greetings from South Africa. I love watching the show to see your adventures with your family. I hope to one day come spend a year in Alaska on a working holiday as it’s the one place I’ve always been fascinated by.

      Kind Regards,

      Patrick

    • Hello from Kentucky, Chip.

      I am (…ashamed to admit) somewhat envious of you, your family and lifestyle. You are all so loving to one another, and so down-to-earth. Which is so very admirable and uplifting; especially, in today’s world.

      As you are my favorites on the series, it’s always a pleasure to see you on each episode. You both are natural teachers, so I love learning how-to’s and methods from you and your beautiful Agnes, whom I definitely appreciate for her native culture, knowledge and wisdom, as well as you, for your dedication to your family, and for your own talents and experiences.

      So, in closing, take care of yourselves, stay safe, and God bless each of you. As woman and mother/grandmother of 62 years, I absolutely adore Agnes, so please extend my greetings to her and give her a hug and kiss for me. I sincerely do admire her for being such a strong and positive role model for her children – and, for all womankind.

      ~Rhonda Abrams
      From the Mountains of Appalachian Kentucky

      • Chip, glad you past all that, today is 10/22/2020. I hope you get/got satisfaction vs HWP. Police Unions to damn powerful in USA anyways IMO. I live in very small NW ALABAMA town. You would not believe the amount of military grade equipment at police equipment yard, unreal.
        Anyways, good luck buddy.
        Take care of that family and grand youngins! Have a good day!

        Lee

    • Mike corbett Reply

      I never miss an episode I am from New Zealand and I love the show especially you Agnes and the family great stuff

    • Bill Wimbish Reply

      Good to know Chip. I hope you get what you and your family win. I know the law think they are God and do nothing wrong. Keep in keeping on. From Bill in Tennessee.✌

    • jessie jones Reply

      I love your family,I think Agness is an amazing person,all the things she can do wow.I wish she would write a cook book !!!How to dry fish everything ,I would buy it for sure.God Bless your family.Happy Holidays !!!!!

      Jessie Jones

    • Michael Rogers Reply

      The Rowlands are a joke they don’t belong on this show the family has every convenience they need and Caleb is a 3rd generation McCartney citizen and hardly lives off the land. The Roach family is a horrible addition as well, the guy has a his own saw mill and bobcat give me a break. Manzo was the best you had on the new generation show the cast now is weak and nobody respects these clowns.

    • I would have done same Chip, police officer or not if believed he was hurting my daughter you damn well better be ready for Poppa Bear. Hope all is well …would love to go hunting with you and the family one day. I live in rural West Virginia been hunting and fishing my whole life with my Father. I’ve feed my family for years on wild game and fish. Nothing near they way you all live, much respect. Maybe one day my Father and I will make to Alaska to experience the beautiful State.

      Reset,
      Chris

    • i have respect for you and your family and how you raised your beautiful family.

  2. Dick Williams Reply

    I hate this fucking show. It’s so not how real life cold weather happens in Illinois

  3. They are NOT subsistence hunters!! They run around on snow machines and seem to have an endless supply of fuel for heat and gasoline for the toys. They need to quit shooting animals and fly in food instead of gasoline

    • Please, you wouldn’t last one week out there mid-winter, especially with your precious snowflake feelings. Liberalism is a mental disorder.

  4. moat people on this show can’t hit the broad side of a barn. Continuity in editing sucks like your read about weapons swap hands and even types between “adjacent shots”, people get off snowgos multiple times in different order, background swaps orientation, people supposedly miles from anything have other buildings/structures appear briefly behind them, in one shot a fish clearly gets caught just as the camera pans away while the very next shot the person says they didn’t find anything… completely garbage production. Agnes is super hot though.

  5. christyness Reply

    i love the netflix show and they must try and make it REAL not fake stuff and endanger the folks, willing to show us their lives. Shame on the producer who harassed Sue. She should have punched him in the face.

    • The lower 48 has a lot to learn. Choosing to live in the the outdoors of Alaska or being born & raised is more than away of life. It’s a religion. It shows how far removed, spoiled & just plain out of touch with nature the people in the lower 48 really are.
      The lifestyle these folks have, the respect they show for the land & their environment as well as well as the respect they show for each other is what everyone should strive to be. These people aren’t stars or hero’s nor do they want to be. Their just everyday folks who have allowed us a peek into their lives. It’s the producers who make the big bucks & talk a good line of crap just to get the ratings they want. Chip & Agnes set a great example of lessons learned from nature, respect for what it provides, appreciation, love & being truly grateful for the land, their family, & each other that the rest of the world should want to embrace & emulate in their own & they manage to do it minus all the negativity.

  6. Where is andy bassitch ? why has he not been on the show this season ? andy is much more entertaining than yeah me sue akins !

  7. joyce greer Reply

    wat happen to kate we watched her go from a spunky lady to a old women on life below zero

    • a late entry but you and your family are awesome! maintain the culture for all of us. Bless you all!

    • Andy happened to Kate! She held her head high while constantly being berated by that ass. Kate, move forward pretty lady!

  8. Dick Patterson Reply

    Glenn, were you part of the Villeneuve family that owned a lot of land in the Waterbury, Duxbury, Vt. area? If so, my Dad was good friends with your father. We followed your father around at different logging operations and cleaned up the tops and headers.

  9. ROBERT HOOD Reply

    WHY DONT THE HAILSTONES USE TRIPODS AND SCOPES WHEN SHOOTING CARABU? BLASTING AWAY AT TARGETS AT 2 OR 3 HUNDRED YARDS RUNNING IS BOUNT TO INJURE THIER PREY.IAM NOT A DOGOODER BUT WHEN I HUNT I LIKE TO DO IT HUMANELY .I ASSUME THEY CUT THE THROATS OF THE INJURED CARABU .AND SAVE BULLETS AS WELL.ROBERT HOOD

  10. Angie Roberts Reply

    What’s up with Sue Aikens? Every time she walks out the door to check on her fuel, or to shit for that matter, there’s so many things that can kill her. Weather, river, or some (absent) predator, she’s at death’s door. Jeezus woman, get out of there if that’s all on your mind!

    And that abusive Bassich? “living off the land” MY ASS! The guy’s clearly loaded. He’s got, essentially, fucking building contractor’s equipment with a tractor and backhoe and shit. Always working on “projects.” (rolling my eyes here). You clearly have enough resources (cash) to feed your dogs, so quit WASTING BY KILLING so many salmon!!! Jeezus fracking Kroist, buy some goddamn dog food you wasteful ASS

  11. Sue Aikens is the only one I like to watch. The lady lives alone and survives in the harshest of environments and runs her business. The Hailstones are fake. I don’t think Chip is a very nice guy and Agnes is sooooooo dumb and irritating. “Yeah we got a duck!” Ugh!

    • Tricia you poor soul! Agnes would be there to save you if your local Starbucks closed.

  12. It’s another reality show folks, if you don’t like it go watch “big brother”.

  13. I rather see Andy, Glenn and the dog musher…. Stores with sue r boring… Thx god for DVR… I fast forward thru her boring stuff……

  14. Lynda M Stane Reply

    To Sue Akins, I love how you are able to do so much on your own. You put many men to shame, to say the least. You are my favorite person to watch on the show. When are you going back to your place and learn to catch some rabbits and other animals for survival?

  15. I’ve been binge watching on Netflix and have to say even though this show is scripted its entertainment, I mean isnt that why we watch TV does anyone really expect a reality show to be REALITY? without being scripted c’mon now. but either way, I have to say I have my favorites, the Hailstones love how down to earth your family is, sue your a badass and next time they try to push you to do something you don’t like punch their asses in the throat, I didn’t care for andy that much nor glenn. I did like Eric and Martha they are a cute couple and have their own business which is awesome.

  16. I love the Hailstones! They are such a cute family, and Agnes and Chip are good parents. I also love Ricko; he and his kids have been a great addition to the show.

    Andy has always annoyed me, especially with his lack of patience for Kate and how he always blamed her when things went wrong, but I try to give him the benefit of the doubt because editing, people! If someone taped me 24-7 for a few weeks they could make me look like a complete saint, or the biggest a-hole the world has ever seen.

  17. I love this show. I’m glad the Hailstones might finally get some justice. There are way too many bad cops, abusing their power, making it hard to trust the ones that might actually be good. I’m also glad Andy seems to have found a better balance in his life, and that Kate is back with her family, whom I’m sure she missed greatly. I love Sue. I see a lot of myself in her. 😉 I mean this as a compliment. I love that she’s so comfortable being a crazy, funny, older, strong broad who doesn’t take crap from anyone. I just feel bad she had to get hurt so badly before she embraced that last part. I like the Dewilde’s and Jessie. I miss the Villanueve’s and Salitan’s. Good luck Jessie & all of you out there, be safe.

  18. I’m wondering if Susan Aiken’s bought the cabin we saw once in a show? And does she ever live there?
    Or does she just live in the airport?
    Thanks
    Marilyn

  19. James Vines Reply

    I enjoy the show I want to say hi to them all especially Sue Atkins and the Halestones, chip and his wife Agnes and family. Write if you can.

    • AMEN! I am 62 years old and want Chip and Agnes to adopt me. Pretty please?

  20. Daniel dube Reply

    happy birthday sue akin give it hell girl
    from an ole buck in new hamshire

  21. I started watching this show in April 2021, I placed it on DVR and have watched a lot of reruns. For 14 years I was stationed in Canada, I remember those 40 below winters, brrrr. But, I had heat and running water, and they had great people clear any snow by the time to go to work Yes I’m spoiled but I like watching people doing things that they enjoy. Bless you all I don’t know if I could spend my whole week just looking for food when these days I can place the order on the internet and have someone deliver if for some reason can’t fit it all in

  22. Sue is boring and predictable. All she does is winey and complaining about weather,the amount of work she does,how alone she is,how dangerous it is,etc,etc, When she appears the channel is changed. Sue–guess what nobody cares about your camp that is only open 4 months a year or the life you decided to live.

  23. I dont understand why the folks not happy with the show keep watching it and talk bad about it. jeez there are many other shows to watch. But some of us enjoy and respect the cast and realize the struggles they endure to survive in that type enviroment. I wish i would had a chance or parent teach me that life style. No i grew up with ADD n poor in city with a father who beat abused me and shot a hole in wall with 12ga scary my mom when i was 4yr then when i was 10yr he blew lady live next door head off, then i grew up only to be gang beaten, robbed, ripped off and dosed so many times i cant even keep count anymore. But.. im a very loving and extremely greatful guy who feels so lucky be alive and love watching life below zero its my favorite show, almost like therapy for me i never got but this show helps so much i just love it so please if you dont then its easy to switch channel im sure there something that make you happy. I wish you good luck.

  24. BRENDA J SMITH Reply

    I am very very sad the Gary passed away he was my favorite on the show.

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