{"id":9554,"date":"2022-10-07T14:12:56","date_gmt":"2022-10-07T14:12:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/?p=5404872"},"modified":"2022-10-07T14:12:56","modified_gmt":"2022-10-07T14:12:56","slug":"duck-dynasty-pawn-stars-executive-producer-shooting-denver-reality-tv-series-about-legal-weed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/duck-dynasty-pawn-stars-executive-producer-shooting-denver-reality-tv-series-about-legal-weed\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cDuck Dynasty,\u201d \u201cPawn Stars\u201d executive producer shooting Denver reality-TV series about legal weed"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"wp_fb_like_button\" style=\"margin:5px 0 5px 5px;float:right;height:100px;\"><script src=\"http:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/all.js#xfbml=1\"><\/script><fb:like href=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/duck-dynasty-pawn-stars-executive-producer-shooting-denver-reality-tv-series-about-legal-weed\/\" send=\"true\" layout=\"standard\" width=\"450\" show_faces=\"false\" font=\"arial\" action=\"like\" colorscheme=\"light\"><\/fb:like><\/div><div class=\"media_block\"><\/div>\n<p>When father-son duo Richard Batenburg Jr. and Rick Batenburg III were approached about turning their cannabis business into a reality TV series, they had an immediate question: Why?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFrankly, we were shocked, because we don\u2019t think we\u2019re that interesting,\u201d Batenburg III said via Zoom from his Denver office on Thursday. \u201cBut we\u2019re very excitable and have a high risk tolerance. They saw potential in the family-business concept, so that\u2019s how we ended up as the hub of the show.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Batenburgs own and operate <a href=\"https:\/\/clearconcentrate.com\/\">The Clear<\/a>, which makes and sells cannabis edibles, oils and pre-rolled joints. In addition, the Denver-based team\u2019s $125 million portfolio of assets includes various marijuana extraction, growing and retail companies and products, spread across nine states.<\/p>\n<p>Private investments from about 120 friends and industry players have pushed them to the forefront of the multibillion-dollar legal weed industry, they said.<\/p>\n<p>Producers have been filming for the series, dubbed \u201cHigh Science,\u201d this week in Colorado, grabbing cinematic footage of the Batenburgs at work and in the open. (The Denver Post was shown a preview of a dramatic opening shot of them walking toward the camera, the younger Batenburg exhaling a massive hit from his weed vape-pen.)<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_5405288\" class=\"wp-caption alignright size-article_inline_third\"><img class=\"lazyautosizes lazyload\" src=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/duck-dynasty-pawn-stars-executive-producer-shooting-denver-reality-tv-series-about-legal-weed.jpg\" alt=\"A crew films, Richard Batenburg Jr., far left, and son Rick Batenburg III (center) as they talk to a client at Clear Cannabis Inc. The father-son duo are the stars of an in-production reality TV show in Denver called \" width=\"1500\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/duck-dynasty-pawn-stars-executive-producer-shooting-denver-reality-tv-series-about-legal-weed.jpg\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/duck-dynasty-pawn-stars-executive-producer-shooting-denver-reality-tv-series-about-legal-weed.jpg 620w,https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.denverpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/TDP-Z-HighScienceBatenburg-02.jpeg?fit=210%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 210w\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A crew films, Richard Batenburg Jr., far left, and son Rick Batenburg III (center) as they talk to a client at Clear Cannabis Inc. The father-son duo are the stars of an in-production reality TV show in Denver called \u201cHigh Science.\u201d (Provided by Comprise Agency)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The show\u2019s focus on different businesses and personalities in the legal-weed world will give it a national perspective, said Batenburg Jr., who formerly operated comedy and jazz clubs and, along with his son, co-owns the Breckenridge Vipers semi-pro hockey team \u2014 which Batenburg III still plays on.<\/p>\n<p>That, and the behind-the-scenes pedigree of \u201cHigh Science,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westword.com\/marijuana\/father-son-denver-marijuana-business-filming-reality-tv-show-15154787\">first reported by Westword<\/a> on Wednesday, already give the nascent series an edge.<\/p>\n<p>While the show has not yet been picked up by a network, production on the eight-episode debut season is already well underway with several TV veterans attached, including Colorado-based producer Patrick Hackett. Executive producer David McKillop has won a pair of Primetime Emmy awards and produced titles such as \u201cDuck Dynasty,\u201d \u201cBates Motel,\u201d \u201cLongmire\u201d and Storage Wars.\u201d While he was head of the History Channel, he also developed series such as \u201cPawn Stars,\u201d \u201cIce Road Truckers,\u201d \u201cAmerican Pickers,\u201d \u201cAx Men\u201d and \u201cSwamp People.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Director and showrunner Brandon Clark is behind the Colorado-set rom-com \u201cThe Engagement Plot,\u201d and takes turns working on \u201cHigh Science\u201d and his other projects, Batenburg III said. Coordinating producer Ed LeClere first hatched the idea, and had been developing it for three years when he brought it to the Batenburgs.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCannabis changed his life after an injury, because he was on so many pain meds he couldn\u2019t even function,\u201d said Batenburg Jr. \u201cThis idea of a reality series that highlighted the benefits from a medical perspective eventually grew into, \u2018How do we make this entertaining?\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n<p>The answer is variety. From stalking smugglers who have gone legit to profiling industry icons such as <a href=\"https:\/\/cannatechtoday.com\/chemdog\/\">Massachusetts\u2019 Greg \u201cChem\u201d Krzanowski<\/a>, the show will explore and educate about the history, chemistry and uses of cannabis. As the first state to legalize recreational cannabis starting in 2014, Colorado seemed like the natural choice.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"related right\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re the suits,\u201d Batenburg Jr. said with a laugh. \u201cHollywood likes formulas, and people like what they know. So we\u2019re bridging that gap between the (business world) and the stereotypical OGs, Rastafarian warriors, Earth mothers and the flower faithful.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Batenburgs hope to sell the show to a gold-standard network such as Discovery or A&amp;E, bypassing the streaming-only route for a broadcast series that reaches the most households possible. Removing the stigma from weed and educating people \u2014 even stoners and lovers of the plant \u2014 is just as important as creating a slick, watchable TV show, they said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a me-and-him-against-the-world type of dynamic,\u201d Batenburg III said. \u201cWe\u2019ve bet the farm, so to speak, and are trying to see what that looks like in real life. It\u2019s our money, and the people I care about\u2019s money. It\u2019s a fine line to walk, creating a corporation while not losing the soul of what the product represents.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of subject matter within the context of each episode,\u201d Batenburg Jr. added. \u201cIt\u2019s not just me yelling at Rick like in \u2018Orange County Choppers.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/newsletter-signup\/in-the-know\">Subscribe to our weekly newsletter, In The Know, to get entertainment news sent straight to your inbox.<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"media_block\"><\/div>\n<p>&#8220;High Science,&#8221; a new reality TV show backed by some of the biggest producers in the business, is filming in Colorado this month as it&#8217;s shopped around to networks. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5062,52,7289,6811,2435,7938,77,9,5019,8321,6845,1778,1,3,7072,6923,8322,8438,61,1736],"tags":[5063,2632,7291,6816,2436,7939,2655,5022,8323,6846,4346,7073,6924,8324,8439],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9554"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9554"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9554\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9554"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9554"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9554"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}