Bug Out was an American television series investigating a heist of rare live insects at the Philadelphia Insectarium & Butterfly Pavilion. It premiered on IMDb TV on March 4, 2022.
| Bug Out | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Docuseries, true crime |
| Directed by | Ben Feldman |
| Starring |
|
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 4 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
|
| Producer | Marc D'Agostino |
| Production location | Philadelphia, PA |
| Running time | 35 minutes |
| Production company | The Cinemart |
| Original release | |
| Network | IMDb TV |
| Release | March 4, 2022 |
Summary
editThe series tells the story of the unsolved heist of $50,000 worth of rare live insects from the Philadelphia Insectarium & Butterfly Pavilion, the first bug zoo in the United States.[1] It explores the underworld of exotic bug smugglers, and the Federal agents who pursue them, focusing on the day in August 2018 when the head of the museum, John Cambridge, arrived at work and realized some 7,000 live bugs had been stolen. It was the biggest insect heist on record, with many of the missing bugs rare, large, or deadly, including scorpions, tarantulas, rhinoceros cockroaches, and a six-eyed sand spider.[2][3][4]
Series creator Ben Feldman was working as a lawyer in Philadelphia when he heard about the heist.[2] The series evolved from the 2019 documentary Flea Market, which examined the same subject and was also directed by Feldman.[1]
Following release of the video in March of 2022, a defamation lawsuit was filed in the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County, Cambridge, et al. v. Feldman, et al., C.C.P. Phila. May Term 2022 No. 02657. The matter’s docket is available to the public at https://fjdefile.phila.gov/efsfjd/zk_fjd_public_qry_00.zp_disclaimer by accepting the court's disclaimers, selecting "Display Civil Docket Report," entering Case ID 220502657, entering the pass code to prove you are a human, and hitting the Submit key.
In 2024 the genre "Documentary" was removed from reference to the video. The case was settled September 20, 2024, with a confidential settlement agreement. As part of the agreement The Cinemart, producer of the video, agreed to place a statement on its web site which is available at https://thecinemart.com/bug-out.html. The statement reads as follows.
"The Bug Out series has been removed as part of a confidential resolution of a lawsuit arising from complaints by certain individuals who have asserted that Bug Out did not portray them accurately. To the extent any individuals depicted in the show, specifically but not limited to Dr. Cambridge, were not depicted accurately, it was not the intention of anyone involved in making the series to do so."
Pursuant to the settlement the video has been removed from sites where it had been publicly available.
Those interested in learning more about how and why the matter settled are directed to the transcript of a hearing in the defamation suit held by zoom before Judge Carpenter July 11, 2024. Information on getting transcripts can be obtained from the Office of Court Reporter and Interpreter Services, First Judicial District of Pennsylvania, 100 South Broad Street, 2nd Floor, Land Title Building, Philadelphia, PA 19110, (215) 683-8000, or https://www.courts.phila.gov/departments/courtreporters/.
Cast
edit- John Cambridge
- Steve Kanya
- Kevin Wiley
- Wlodek Lapkiewicz
- Michael Kinzler
- Chris Tomasetto
- Alison Mumper
Episodes
edit| No. | Title | Original release date | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "The Buglary" | 4 March 2022 | |
|
When thousands of live insects worth over $50,000 are stolen, detectives investigate an underworld of bug collectors and insect dealers. | |||
| 2 | "Going Underground" | 4 March 2022 | |
|
TBD | |||
| 3 | "Colony Collapse" | 4 March 2022 | |
|
TBD | |||
| 4 | "Under the Magnifying Glass" | 4 March 2022 | |
|
TBD | |||
Release
editThe trailer was released on January 25, 2022.[1] The four-part series premiered on IMDb TV on March 4, 2022.[1]
References
edit- ^ a b c d Zucker, Noah (28 January 2022). "Docuseries 'Bug Out' explores unsolved Philadelphia Insectarium heist". Philly Voice. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
- ^ a b Hogan, Michael (23 February 2022). "'It's Tiger King meets Ace Ventura': the wild true story of the world's biggest insect heist". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
- ^ White, Peter (3 May 2021). "IMDb TV: 'High School' Dramedy Greenlit, Unscripted Orders & Chiefs On 'Bosch' Spinoff, Judge Judy Sheindlin Series & Plans To Bring Broadcast Tone To Streaming". Deadline. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
- ^ Spangler, Todd (3 May 2021). "IMDb TV Orders Dick Wolf Crime Drama, Series With Luke Bryan and Jeff Lewis". Variety. Retrieved 2 March 2022.