Pivot's highly anticipated 8 episode, hour-long docu-series The Operatives, starring eco warrior Pete Bethune (Whale Wars), will premiere tonight, August 17 at 10pm ET/ 7PM PT. The Operatives are a group of former elite soldiers who have collectively spent decades defending their countries, and are now putting their expertise to use to defend the natural world.
Bethune and his team show no fear and have no boundaries as they travel to some of the world's most dangerous territories, from a highly guarded diamond mine in Namibia to the rough seas of the Pacific Ocean. The team's mission to expose the world's most deplorable eco offenders has them coming face-to-face with secret Namibian seal clubbing, miners who are destroying the planet's last pristine rainforest, and illegal shark finning, among other missions.
Bethune's team consists of some of the world's best soldiers, including Rick, a former SEAL Team 6 member who struggles through the missions with physical ailments; Bryce, a former member of the 75th Ranger Regiment who has never met anything he can't fix; Charissa, the only woman on the team, is a former air force UAV pilot who has made a career flying military drones over Iraq and Afghanistan; Jack, a former paratrooper in the New Zealand Air Force, has worked as a mercenary in Iraq and Afghanistan, mostly alongside US forces and Security Firms; Matt, the only one out of the group without Special Forces training, stands out for his brawn and willingness to get any job done; and Rich, a former member of the US Army Special Operations Command, is the mission control of the team, responsible for all planning and execution.
Throughout their missions this elite, handpicked team constantly battles with both outside and internal foes, with some team members threatening to leave after failed missions.
The Operatives is a true account of the Bethune team's determination to catch and expose those who are enabling the destruction of our ecosystem.
Episode 101: The Seals of Nam
The mission is to capture footage of the secret Namibian seal clubbing. The team splits into two and heads to the Namibian coast where a secret and brutal seal cull occurs. Nearly 100,000 baby seals are bashed over the head with pickaxe handles every year there. It is said a lot of these seals don't die instantly and suffer miserably. Newspaper articles reveal that Rick and Matt's team have been compromised and they are forced to evacuate the area. Pete and Jack manage to sneak into a heavily guarded diamond mine and after many nights of surveillance, finally manage to capture the barbaric seal cull on tape.
Episode 102: Dawning of the Drones
Using a military spy drone,
The Operatives try to expose the captain of a suspected illegal trawler vessel who is alleged to have been damaging a local marine reserve. After three crash landings, Charissa finally manages to locate a trawler in the reserve using infrared technology. Pete and Jack launch their amphibious vessel and board the trawler, gaining evidence needed for a prosecution.
Episode 103:
Jungle Gold Robbers Part 1
The Operatives' mission is to find the gold miners who are suspected of illegally destroying one of the last pristine rainforests on the planet, Corcovado National Park. The miners cause erosion, pollute the rivers with chemicals and kill the endangered wildlife for food. This is one of the most rugged areas of forest on the planet and finding the miners is an unfortunate 'needle in a haystack' state of affairs. Pete comes up with a plan to locate them from the sky using a crazy flying machine called a paramotor. Jack and Bryce are sent to an airstrip to learn how to fly it, but end up crashing it into a barbed wire fence. At the same time Rich and Matt Go On a reconnaissance mission and find themselves in a gunfight.
The Operatives is a
Pivot Original Series, acquired from Zodiak Rights, who also handles international distribution.
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