Finding Bigfoot

***Finding Bigfoot*** is an American reality television series following four researchers and explorers investigating potential evidence for Bigfoot, a cryptid hominid allegedly living in the wilderness of the United States and Canada. The series was produced by Ping Pong Productions and aired for nine seasons on Animal Planet from May 29, 2011 to May 27, 2018.

## Premise

From small towns in the south to remote areas of the Pacific Northwest and Alaska, four eccentric but passionate Bigfoot enthusiasts embark on the single-minded mission to find the elusive creature known as Bigfoot. The team consists of founder and President Matt Moneymaker, researchers James "Bobo" Fay and Cliff Barackman, and skeptical scientist Ranae Holland. The series never questions the existence of bigfoot, but rather documents the team's futile search efforts and study of potential evidence in an attempt to prove the creature's existence.

Beginning with the third season, the team expanded their search from North America to investigate sasquatch phenomenon in other countries, such as the Yowie in Australia, the Orang Pendek in Indonesia, and Wildman in Vietnam. In season four, the team traveled to China in search of the Yeren, and Nepal in search of the Yeti. In later seasons, they traveled to other countries like the United Kingdom and Brazil.

Over the course of the series, the team has introduced many bigfoot related terms into the American vernacular. For example, the term "bigfoot" is rarely used in favor of "squatch," (short for sasquatch), and their investigations are referred to as "squatchin'". The areas they investigate are often described as "Squatchy", with Washington having been described as "the squatchiest state".

## Cast

* Matt Moneymaker - The founder and president of the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization founded in 1995. Moneymaker was born and raised in Los Angeles, California and moved to Ohio in the 2000s. He has been researching bigfoot for thirty years.
* Cliff Barackman - Born and raised in Long Beach, California, Barackman currently resides in Portland, Oregon. The evidence analyst of the group has been a dedicated sasquatch field researcher for the past two decades who has been known to spend over 200 days a year in the field.
* James "Bobo" Fay - The field caller was born and raised in Manhattan Beach, California, and has been interested in bigfoot since the 1980s. The tallest and burliest of the team, he is the one most often used to stand in for bigfoot reconstructions. Fay is known for his "Gone Squatchin'" hat, and often wears other bigfoot-related attire. He and Barackman are best friends and searched for bigfoot together before the series started.
* Ranae Holland - The skeptical member of the cast is a field biologist born and raised in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. While she is not a member of the BFRO and does not believe in Bigfoot, her interest in the creature was fueled by her father's fascination with the phenomenon. As a child, she and her father spent quality time together "squatching" and watching bigfoot movies.

## Episodes

Main article: *List of Finding Bigfoot episodes*

## Reception

### Ratings

The sneak preview of *Finding Bigfoot*, set following the third season finale of *River Monsters*, aired on Memorial Day delivered 1.387 P2+ million viewers, making for Animal Planet's most-watched late night telecast ever. The entire first season drew in 1.088 million P2+ viewers at 10 pm, and 1.12 million viewers for its 11 pm encore. By its second season, *Finding Bigfoot* became one of Animal Planet's top three performing series of all time, with the episodes "Baby Bigfoot" and "Buckeye Bigfoot" each drawing in 1.6 million viewers and becoming the show's most watched episodes, with the overall season drawing in 1.342 million viewers and earning a 0.5 household rating. Ratings increased with the third season, which attracted 1.2 million viewers, attracting 2.57 million viewers and achieving a 0.8 household rating with the season three special "Untold Stories", and 1.28 million viewers with "Ripped from the Headlines".

### Critical

*Finding Bigfoot* received heavy criticism during its run, both from critics and from bigfoot enthusiasts, the latter of which ridiculed the team's consistent lack of success and the fact that any footage of a Bigfoot would by reported long before an episode airs. Several episodes from the first season were criticized from the four team members themselves for the editing style that Animal Planet used to make it appear that a horse and person were unidentified by the team. The second event, involving the horse, led the team to threaten to quit the show if such a technique was used again. Regardless, the series proved popular and was one of the network's top programs during its run.