History Channel broadcast a teaser trailer for its upcoming series IRT Deadliest Roads: South America during yesterday’s episode of Ice Road Truckers and it certainly was a tease for its viewers, offering tidbits of small, yet substantial, hints as to what we can expect to see this Fall. From the get-go, it was clear that the newly ordained truckers would navigate narrow, winding mountain paths with inches of clearance from the edges of sheer vertical cliffs that are higher than some of the clouds that travel through the region. South America is notoriously known for several of the world’s most dangerous roads, including the North Yungas Road, which locals in Bolivia call the “Road of Death.” The trailer suggests that season 2 may involve either travel along this road or other similar roads set high atop the Andes. Two separate scenes in the trailer depict blasting along the mountainside or along dirt paths indicating that the roads are not well-developed and should pose a rocky challenge for the truckers, some of whom are more accustomed to icy terrain.
From the trailer, it is apparent that ice road truckers Hugh Rowland and Rick Yemm will be seen in the new series and will likely be part of the main cast. Though we are only offered a glimpse of a posterior head profile of a female driver, it is most likely that of Lisa Kelly, who was also featured in last year’s IRT Deadliest Roads set in the Himalayas and, in fact, was the only driver to complete every assignment in that particular series. Given that the breadth and depth of Lisa’s trucking goals increase every year, it would come as no surprise to see Lisa test her driving skills in South America to further boost her credentials and gain the respect of fellow, largely male, truck drivers. The trailer also reveals two new faces who, to my knowledge, have not been featured in previous seasons of IRT or its spin-off.
From what can be gathered from the trailer, it appears that the ice road truckers will literally face the deadliest roads in the world and this premise should yield an exciting new season that even surpasses the gut-wrenching first season. The expected date for the season 2 premiere is sometime in November this year.