Although Whitman parent Madeline Carter has had her job as executive producer at National Geographic locked up for the last fifteen years, the phrase took on new meaning when she began producing the show “Locked Up Abroad” three years ago.

Currently in its ninth season, an unusual feat for a documentary, “Locked Up Abroad” offers accounts of capture, incarceration and terror with personal interviews from first-hand sources as well as dramatic reenactments.

“I think the reason that ‘Locked Up Abroad’ has lasted so long is because it has a cult following from viewers who are not the usual National Geographic Channel viewers,” Carter said. “The following tends to be much younger, more urban and more evenly divided between men and women than National Geographic Channel’s usual audience.”

Senior Tate Carter-Graham, Carter’s son, falls under the younger viewer category. While Carter-Graham said that he feels obligated to watch his mom’s show, he does enjoy the material, as well as having a mother in the TV industry.

“I think it’s pretty cool, because it will be a Wednesday night and she wants my whole family to sit down, watch her new episode and tell her what we think,” Carter-Graham said. “It’s nice to be tied to it, especially because it’s such a cool show.”

Senior Caroline Seibel also watches “Locked Up Abroad,” but purely for her own enjoyment.

“I love it, there’s a lot of cool stuff you find out,” Seibel said. “Like in Norway, prisoners have their own apartments and they function more like a community. It’s also really funny when they interview the prisoners, because some of them are surprisingly normal, but then some of them are insane.”

Before becoming an executive producer, Carter worked as a freelance producer. She now oversees the various producers working for outside production companies who actually make the shows. She is sent rough cuts, and then gives feedback to the production company on what is and isn’t working.

Although handling many different shows at one time can be challenging, Carter said that it’s the aspect of her job she most enjoys.

“I’m involved with shows that are just in the idea phase, and I’m also involved in shows that have been going on for nine seasons,” she said. “What I do is a real smorgasbord of series and specials and one-offs. To me that’s the fun of the job: being a mini-expert on a variety of topics depending on what I’m working on.”

Carter oversees many other shows for National Geographic besides “Locked Up Abroad,” including “Drugs Inc.” which has earned her the endearing nickname “The Drug Lady.” Carter said the series, which focuses on a city’s drug trade from the points of view of users, dealers and law enforcement officials, has also been very popular.

Among the many avid National Geographic viewers is physics teacher Kismet Talaat, who’s seen a few episodes of “Locked Up Abroad.” She believes that while scary, “Locked Up Abroad” accurately portrays events that can happen due to misinterpretation of the law in other countries.

“I think a lot of Americans think that other countries are as liberal as we are,” Talaat said. “Without having as firm a grip on other countries, you can get into trouble. ‘Locked Up Abroad’ does a good job portraying this, and I think it’s something that should be mandatory viewing for people before they go abroad.”

Carter has only been producing “Locked Up Abroad” for the past three years, but she has been locked in on the film industry for decades. Carter developed an interest in photography while in middle school, but switched to film in college. After studying film production, she knew that she wanted to be in documentary film.

As Carter puts it, “This is my dream job, and I hope I can keep it.”