No Boundaries with Captain Charlie Summerville of Outdoor Channel’s Original Series “Life on the Edge”

Tune in for True Reality Adventures in Alaska on Fridays at 9 p.m. ET.

DENVER (October 25, 2023) – Most Alaskans will agree the area can be unforgiving and harsh at its worst. Still, its unpredictability showcases its honesty, as seen in Outdoor Channel’s original docu-series Life on the Edge, airing Fridays at 9 p.m. ET. The series chronicles the lives of fearless homesteaders as they live off the grid in some of the harshest terrain in the world – the Aleutian Islands. The Aleutians are known as the “Cradle of Storms” and occupy an area of 6,900 miles. 

Captain Charlie Summerville and his family are in the center of Life on the Edge – his wife, Helen, and two daughters, Samantha and Stephanie. To Capt. Charlie, a -30 below-degree day is just another day in paradise. 

Capt. Charlie recently shared with The Revolution with Jim and Trav more about the new series and their hunting-fishing-guiding business located in Cold Bay. When Charlie got the call from Rare TV, the series producers, he explained that he only wanted to showcase real life with nothing scripted or staged – and they agreed. 

Capt. Charlie Summerville came to Alaska in 1985 at 19 years old from upstate New York with a few hundred dollars and a willingness to do any job to survive. He eventually started guiding wilderness raft trips, built lodges, and created several guiding businesses. An expert pilot, angler, hunter, craftsman, and so much more, Capt Charlie is the first to say he has a love-hate relationship with Alaska. “There is no room for forgiveness here; bush Alaska has no conscience. It will do everything it can to kill you and dishearten you. You see all the prettiness with the bears and eagles, and then suddenly, you are working on a flat tire on the four-wheeler in below-zero winds, and the generator just went out. And you realize this isn’t fun anymore.” 

There is a saying on the Aleutian Islands, “They don’t teach you this at Harvard Business School,” and Charlie agrees. In the series, viewers will see Captain Charlie take on the most significant challenge he’s ever faced, building an epic new wilderness lodge right in the middle of brown bear and wolf territory. His new lodge will gaze upon a stunning bay. It will be the prime location for experiencing and helping to conserve the region’s extraordinary wildlife. From shipping in his materials in 90 mph winds to erecting the lodge’s timber frame in sub-zero temperatures, this is an epic construction challenge – even for someone like him. 

“This season, viewers will see all it takes to get the cabins built from start to finish – from bears getting close, boats getting sunk – it is not staged,” shared Capt. Charlie. “There is no help here. We are 600 miles from any real help, so we must help ourselves and be smart. Viewers will see all of that.”

The series is already filming season two and will showcase the new adventures the Summerville family faces now their lodges are built and ready for customers. 

The entire series is based on the unforgiving Igiugig (a 9,000-year-old native community) Umnak (home to America’s most remote cowboys), and Volcano Bay (quite literally THE most remote homestead in America). 

Rare TV’s CEO Alexander Gardiner adds, “The Aleutians are the most extreme islands in America. Period. The islands are an ideal location for a new factual adventure series that the Outdoor Channel audience will love as much as our producers and directors did while making this extraordinary new series!”

Every individual on Life on the Edge wants to change the world by taming this extraordinary landscape. But the stakes could not be higher, with temperatures plummeting to -50 degrees Fahrenheit, white-out snowstorms, unforgiving seas, and myriad man-eating carnivores threatening their lives.

Rare TV Ltd. produces life on the Edge and airs exclusively on Outdoor Channel. 

About Outdoor Channel: Outdoor Channel has been taking viewers across America and around the world on unparalleled adventures since 1993. Dedicated to the outdoor lifestyle and conservation, the independent cable network is a division of Outdoor Sportsman Group and provides a complete spectrum of riveting hunting, fishing, shooting and adventure entertainment. Outdoor Channel is the largest outdoor TV footprint in the country and is available in more than 50 countries internationally. Outdoor Channel can be viewed in HD and is accessible by broadband and mobile platforms. For program times and other information, visit www.outdoorchannel.com. Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.