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‘Alaskan Bush People’ Get New Season — Despite Legal Woes And Leaving Alaska

By Toni Matthews
Published on: 11:18 PST, Jan 24, 2016

Well, it looks like whatever discontent was expressed on previous Alaskan Bush People articles is of little to no consequence for the Brown family. The back woods Brady bunch will be back for at least one new season per a comment from the official Discovery Channel Facebook for Alaskan Bush People.

Although Radar Online claimed an exclusive, the more valid confirmation comes by way of a question posed by a fan of the reality tv series. Elizabeth Cristie asked, “When does the new season start?” To which she received the answer,

“There will be new episodes later in 2016!”

That seemed to be the only answer available, although additional and important questions were asked by fans of the show. Specifically, if 62-year-old family patriarch Billy Brown and 31-year-old son Joshua “Bam Bam” Brown will be out of jail by the time new episodes of Alaskan Bush People air.

In case you somehow missed it, the Alaskan Bush People cast made national and international headlines when several members of the Brown family were brought up on criminal charges. According to the Associated Press and KTUU, they were found guilty of defrauding the state of Alaska out of $20,938 worth of oil revenue. The problem emerged from the Alaskan Bush People stars not being recognized as state citizens since 2009.

And that’s only the beginning.

You see, the court case brought against the Browns raised the issue that the family weren’t even in the state of Alaska while the case was happening. At the time a plea agreement was being hashed out, the family was answering charges from Seattle, Washington. Needless to say, onlookers were puzzled as to why a family known (at least, according to the Discovery Channel) for spending decades living in the Alaskan Bush.

Recent research shows that the “Alaskan Bush People” actually spent quite a few years outside of the state of Alaska. Billy Brown justified this revelation with the news that he spent quite a bit of time outside of Alaska promoting a book he’d written about the family’s way of life. It was that promotion effort that apparently led to the decision to air a now popular reality TV show.

Still, some are wondering how Alaskan Bush People can return for a new season about “Alaskan Bush People” if criminal charges and Billy’s health concerns have forced the family out of the bush — not to mention outside of the state of Alaska.

Although the Discovery Channel has thus far refuse to comment about the Brown trial and its impact on the Alaskan Bush People going forward, this answer suggests that the network has enough material already in the can for a new season. Remember, reality television shows aren’t necessarily taped “live;” instead the Brown clan would have been documented over a period of weeks, and that film would be edited into a new season. It’s very likely that despite the legal woes currently experienced by the cast, the Discovery Channel is eager to capitalize on their popularity (and infamy).

The most recent season only wrapped up a few weeks ago, so it will probably be a few months before the promised new season airs. What’s interesting is what is to happen beyond that. Sure, the announcement by the Discovery Channel means that they’re sitting on a season’s worth of episodes…but would it be viable to try to make a new season happen beyond what’s already taped?

It’s quite possible that the viewing audience will be less interested in following the urban adventures of a family marketed as preferring isolation and the woods to “city life.”

[Image via screen grab from Discovery Channel YouTube]

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