For many reality TV fans with an interest in history or archaeology, “The Curse of Oak Island” is nothing short of essential viewing. The show, which chronicles treasure hunting brothers Marty and Rick Lagina’s search for the mysterious treasure that is rumored to be buried somewhere on Oak Island in Nova Scotia, is uniquely compelling. For the better part of a decade, the series has recorded the digs, clues, major breakthroughs, and disappointing setbacks that the Lagina brothers and their team have faced throughout their grand undertaking. All of this effort has coalesced into one of the most engaging and in-depth accounts of a real-life treasure hunt in modern history.
The show has been a major triumph for History, with the series still going strong during its ongoing ninth season. But even though the show itself has been extremely successful, Marty Lagina has suggested that the production of the series does negatively impact their exploration of Oak Island in one particular way.
Filming ‘slows down’ the exploration efforts on Oak Island
In an interview with the online publication Reality Blurred, the two Lagina brothers gave some background on how the show came to be and explained how turning their search into reality TV has affected their ongoing efforts to actually locate the infamous alleged treasure. As it turns out, “The Curse of Oak Island” comes at a cost to the very exploration it’s supposed to be documenting.
According to Marty, the production crew of the show originally requested to simply follow the exploration team with minimal interruption to their efforts, but the challenges of this arrangement soon became apparent. While “The Curse of Oak Island” remains unscripted, Marty noted that their natural pace is broken up by the production of the show itself. “The show slows down the exploration effort,” Marty explained. “They don’t interfere. That is a very real show … But it takes a lot longer to do because of the setup of the cameras.”
Is it possible that the Lagina brothers could have already found the legendary treasure on Oak Island if they didn’t have to slow down their efforts for filming? Perhaps, but then fans wouldn’t be able to follow along with the exploration at home (that’s also assuming that the treasure actually does exist). It seems that this is one necessary sacrifice that must be made for “The Curse of Oak Island” to live on.