Canadian airports proving to be popular spot for reality TV

[“Airport: Below Zero” is a new docu-series set in Edmonton International Airport. CBC]

If you’re looking for drama, suspense and emotion, look no farther than the closest international airport. Or you can just switch on your TV set to find that drama in an international airport.

A new docu-series set in Edmonton International Airport, which begins next Wednesday on History, is the latest TV show to mine the busy location for stories with intrigue and heart.

“Airport: Below Zero” will feature story lines that follow evacuees from the Fort McMurray wildfires to the arrival of Iron Maiden’s jumbo jet, after a Toronto production crew spent several winter months at the Edmonton airport shooting the series.

This won’t be the first production set in an airport, a location that is proving to have great potential in the world of reality TV – all around the world.

Earlier this year, the Canadian production of the controversial reality TV show “Border Security” was cancelled after the federal privacy commissioner found it had violated the privacy of someone who’d been filmed during a raid. The show ran for three seasons.

It chronicled the work days of border guards at the Vancouver International Airport, as they dealt with visa issues, drug smugglers and questionable passengers. Over the years, there’s been an Australian, American and Colombian version of the show.

In the Middle East there’s “Ultimate Airport Dubai,” a documentary series set at Dubai International Airport, which is now in its third season.

“Hello Goodbye,” which has several different productions internationally including Canada, is a popular documentary series that features compelling and unusual stories from people in the arrival and departure zones of various airports.

May Friedman, associate professor in communication and culture with the graduate program at Ryerson University, says airports are the perfect location to shoot reality TV shows since they amplify daily interactions.

“All the personality challenges, all the tensions just get amped up,” she tells Yahoo Canada News.

Friedman adds that the idea of being in a space where people are in between places makes for gripping stories.

“There’s something very compelling about seeing people when they are not just outside their environment, but in between their environment, in these transitional spaces by their very definition,” she says.

In terms of ethics, Friedman says filming in an airport brings a lot of risk to many vulnerable travellers who should think twice about being included in such a production.

“We’re not just talking about public shaming, the way we’d have on other TV shows, we’re talking about people having their visas withdrawn or potentially having major consequences that last a long time,” she says. “The stakes are really high when you’re filming in an airport.”