PIG ROYALTY - MCKENZIE AND MICHELLE BALERO INTERVIEW

McKenzie and Michelle Balero

Get ready to go hog wild over Pig Royalty. You never knew the world of competitive pig farming could be so cut throat.

Pig Royalty dives into the extreme world of competitive pig showing, family rivalries and Texas-sized dramas. The series NOW streaming on Discovery + is set in Helotes, TX, where pig shows are as big as “Friday Night Lights” football. Viewers will follow the rivalry between two unforgettable families: the Baleros, who have reigned supreme for years; and the Rihns, who want to take them down and become the next great pig dynasty. The two families criss-cross Texas, competing for the ultimate prizes: money; scholarships; big, shiny belt buckles that “crown” you the winner; and all the bragging rights that go with them. Don’t let the southern smiles and hospitality fool you - the stakes are high and family legacies, reputations and thousands of dollars are on the line. May the best pig win!

From daily walks and scrubbing the sties, to betrayal and ruthless competition, expect no shortage of pigs and no shortage of drama in Pig Royalty. Throughout the season, we’ll see each family practice with their prized pigs day and night in order to win the coveted ‘buckles,’ either for showmanship or breed champion, along with scholarships and hefty cash prizes. Audiences are introduced to a whole new universe of fierce pig show coaches and ‘pig parents,’ who live and breathe pig shows and watch over the next generation of competitors. We’ll meet matriarch Michelle Balero and her champion daughters McKayla, McKenzie, and McCall who train their cousin Taytain “The Nugget” Diaz (11) and have a reputation for drama and the buckles to back it up; The Rihn’s, headed up by matriarch Jodi who, along with her daughters Kammi and Keylie, is looking to make her son Kannen (12) a winner and has some scores to settle with The Baleros; and Jody Rihn’s friends the Tyks’, headed by mothers Mandy and Kristen, who are underdogs looking to get their son Brandon (16) back in the game.

Audiences will track this multi-generational rivalry that consumes the lives of the Balero and Rihn pig parents and trickles down to the kids as they compete to have the best, most celebrated pigs in Texas. Get ready to be pulled in by the belt buckle, as the matriarchs and their daughters prepare their preteen protégées for a competition filled with backstabbing and potential sabotage as tears and secrets spill along the way. Find out who will be crowned the winner and who will be left out in the pig pen.

I spoke with Michelle and McKenzie Balero - two pig queens - whose family is competing hard for the new crown!