Season Four of factual series The Last Alaskans, produced by Half Yard Productions, premiered last month on US television to wide critical acclaim.

Airing Sundays at 10 p.m. on Discovery in the US, Hank Stuever in The Washington Post has hailed The Last Alaskans as “still the best reality show”, and that it “remains TV’s purest and most respectful example of what reality television might have been if the genre had a soul”.

Stuever goes on to say that in the fourth season, it is “somehow surprising to see the episodes are as fresh and uninterrupted as when the show’s cameras first came along” and that it is “both visually and aurally addictive”.

Another Alaskans super-fan is Margaret Lyons of The New York Times, who described Season Four as her “favorite unscripted narrative show… with all the staggering Alaskan vistas and poignant pensiveness you can handle”, and that “if you like impressive camerawork and dream of abandoning urban drudgery, try this.”

The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is the largest protected wilderness in the US, and in 1980 the US Government banned new human occupation from the refuge, leaving only seven permits for families and trappers. These modern-day pioneers return in an all-new season of Discovery Channel’s The Last Alaskans, produced by Half Yard Productions.

Season Four sees them face obstacles brought on by the unforgiving environment, including rising predator competition and the aftermath of forest fires, as well as the deeply personal challenges of trying to raise small children in this world and even battling life-threatening illnesses. These families and trappers will be challenged like never before as they look to continue the unique life they’ve built in the refuge.

The Last Alaskans is produced for Discovery Channel by Half Yard Productions. For Half Yard Productions, executive producers are Abby Greensfelder, Sean Gallagher and John Jones. For Discovery Channel, executive producers are Joseph Schneier and Michael Gara and associate producer is Emily Baustien.