Bug Juice

**Bug Juice** is an American reality television series created by Douglas Ross and J. Rupert Thompson. It focuses around 20 kids and their experiences at summer camp. Together, the kids work hard to excel in their activities and become friends.

The series aired on Disney Channel from February 28, 1998 to October 15, 2001.

## Overview

### Season 1

The first season takes place in Waterford, Maine, at Camp Waziyatah, which has been in operation since 1922. The camp is broken down into two sessions. Each session is four weeks.

* Camp Counsellors: Peanut, Rhett Bachner (Grove 4), Morgan Will (Grove 4), Luna Hammond (Hill 4), Annie (Hill 4), Gregory Weiss is the Candyman.
* Grove 4 (Session 1): Andrew Johnson, Asa Korsen, Connor Shaw, Everett Boyle, Andy White, Hassan A. Omar, Jon Adler, Jason Wool, Malik Sollas
* Grove 4 (Session 2): Andrew Johnson, Asa Korsen, Hassan A Omar, Jon Adler, Malik Sollas, Max Brallier, Andy Freed, Justin Simon, Patrick Milhaupt
* Hill 4 (Session 1): Alison Harding, Caitlin Welby, Lauren Plumley, Martha, Mary Elizabeth Bradley, Megan Tarr, Sarai Abdullah Fife, LaKisha Barksdale, Jenny, Stephanie Etkin
* Hill 4 (Session 2): Caitlin Welby, Sarai Abdullah Fife, LaKisha Barksdale, Stephanie Etkin, Annie Friedman, Cammie Delany, Sarah Ceglarski, Molly McGuinness, Anna Korsen

### Season 2

Season 2 takes place in Horse Shoe, North Carolina, at Camp Highlander. The camp is broken down into three sessions.

* Camp Counsellors: Andrew Cohen and Andrew Foti (Cabin 28), Amanda Peryln, Nikki K, Tiffany Lydon, and Ali Baske (Cabin 6).

* Session A (Female): Libby, Maryanne, Sarah, Jenny, Alex, Simana, Annette, Nikki, Samantha, and Michaela.
* Session A (Male): Steven, Kevin, Sam, Alvan, Jared, Austin, Ricky, Brendan, Alex, and Chasen.
* Session B (Female): Annette and Samantha are joined by Hilary, Michelle, Kelly, Kim, Jennifer, Michelle, Baylor, and Jessica.
* Session B (Male): Steven, Alvan, Ricky, and Chasen are joined by Josh, Stefan, Hunter, Farb, Tyler, and Conor.
* Session C (Female): Kim, Jennifer, Baylor, and Jessica are joined by Jess, Gaby, Dalit, Danielle, Alanna, and Jasmyne.
* Session C (Male): Steven, Ricky, Josh, Hunter, and Farb are joined by Michael, Marcellus, Brandon, Brendan, and Kevin.

### Season 3

Season three takes place in Tererro, New Mexico, at Brush Ranch Camp. The camp is broken down into two four-week sessions.

* Session 1 (Male): JJ (aka Shade), Lee, Alex Hurlbutt, Brendon, Josh, Bryan, Todd, Houston, Alex J., and Jordan.
* Session 1 (Female): Eve La Fountain, Jen, Hallie, Reid, Kelly, Amanda Bustamante, Ali C., Kristen, Megan, and Ali B.
* Session 2 (Male): Jake, Aaron, Brendon, Sam, Bryan, Terrance, Will, Mike, Josh, and Carl.
* Session 2 (Female): Alana, Carrie, Hallie, Alex, Kelly, Amanda Bustamante, Leela, Sarah, Megan, Ellie, and Kiersten.

## Episodes

 2
 3

## Production

The series' co-creator Douglas Ross thought that summer camp would be the "perfect setting for a reality-based program geared for 9 to 12-year-olds." Ross, a former camper himself, pitched the idea to the Disney Channel and the then head of programming and production Rich Ross. He was given the green light to create the series without a pilot episode. The location, Camp Waziyatah, was decided a few months before the 1997 camp season started. The producers conducted about 100 phone interviews and 60 home visits before selecting 27 campers. Four camp counselors were chosen from both the camp's existing group and 350 members of the public in response to an open call on the Internet. The first season was filmed for 56 days straight by three film crews. The boys' and girls' cabins had all male and all female crews, led by directors Donald Bull and Laura Zucco respectively.

On July 15, 1999, Disney ordered a second season; it premiered on March 5, 2000. In June 2000, production began on a third season which was announced on July 12; it began airing on June 3, 2001.

## Release

The show premiered on Disney Channel in 1998, and ran for three seasons ending in 2001. Bug Juice was subsequently pulled from the schedule and was not aired again until the summer of 2004, during which episodes from the first season ran nightly in chronological order. The last episode of Bug Juice aired August 20, 2004, and it has not been shown since.

During the summer of 2006, Disney began posting mini episodes on its website, encouraging viewers of the Disney Channel to log on and view 5-minute short clips from episodes of the first season.

Bug Juice was also broadcast in the UK on Channel 4's The Bigger Breakfast.