Discovery Channel’s Alaskan Bush People is not canceled. Why?

Alaskan Bush People

Do the Alaskan Bush People get paid? We asked! Read our interview with the Brown family.

Alaskan Bush People Season 1 Recaps: Episode 1 | Episode 2 | Episode 3 | Episode 4 | The Wild Life

Season 2 Recaps: Episode 1 | Episode 2Episode 3 | Episode 4Episode 5 | Episode 6 | Episode 7 | Episode 8  | Wild Times | Episode 9 | Episode 10 | Episode 11 | Episode 12 | Episode 13 | Episode 14 | SHARK WEEK! | Episode 15 | Episode 16 | Lost Footage | The Wild Year

NEW! Is Alaskan Bush People Fake? Does It Matter?

Alaskan Bush People
There were a lot of things about Discovery Channel’s unscripted series Alaskan Bush People that didn’t pass the smell test. Now there’s more foul air surrounding the Brown family, and it’s very likely we’ve seen the last of them on TV.

 

Commenter Talkeetnachris tipped us to this:

Billy brown was just charged with stealing over $13000 filing fraudulent PFD claims in Alaska. His near life will be in prison. A few other family members were also charged. This guy and his family are frauds. I have lived off the road system for years and these people won’t last a year. You have to be self sufficient. Hell, I even had to stitch a band cut on my leg once. Many of these shows only have entertainment value with no real practical lessons on what really living on your own is about.

Many commenters doubted that the Browns were actually living off the land, as the show depicted. Instead, it appears the Browns may have been living off of fraudulent Alaskan Permanent Fund Dividend applications. According to Anchorage’s KTUU, patriarch “Billy Brown alone faces 24 felony counts and is accused of illegally obtaining $13,080 in dividend cash for himself and others. The charges do not describe why investigators believe the Brown family was not eligible for the dividends that some members received between 2010 and 2013.” Also indicted were five of Billy’s seven children: Amora Jean Snowbird, Joshua “Bam Bam,” Gabriel “Gabe,” Solomon “Bear” and Noah.

This will come as disappointing news to the many fans of the show who appreciated the Browns’ family values and the off-the-grid lifestyle that they claimed to represent. The credibility of Discovery Channel and Park Slope Productions has to be questioned, as they apparently weren’t diligent about checking the Browns’ backgrounds (even before these indictments came to light) and then aired a special episode with the family defending their authenticity. And personally, recapping Alaskan Bush People has been great fun, and I’m going to miss writing about it and reading all of your comments.

I’m so mad, I could punch a fish.

Update: Get this. Discovery Channel says they are “currently filming new episodes.” From the Alaska Dispatch News:

Stair said that between October 2009 and August 2012, the family did not meet the “physical presence requirement” to receive PFDs. This means the state believes the family spent more than 180 days a year living outside of Alaska and lied about it on their applications, Stair said.

Sean Martin, director of communications at Discovery Channel, wrote in an email Thursday that “we don’t divulge our actual shoot dates, so cannot let you know when filming concluded on season one, but can confirm that we are currently filming new episodes, but have not announced those air dates yet.”

I don’t even…

 

5 Comments

  1. Damn some people like to hate, hahaha its pretty funny how others people shit affects their lifes to be so angry lmao like it’s pretty hilarious get a life everyone fucks up at one point in their lifes EVERYONE!!! I hope the show continues I love watching it fake or not still entertaining hey every family is different. (THE NEGATIVITY THOUGH HAHA )

  2. Don’t be haters of the Browns….they are good people and human most of all…in saying that we all make mistakes and want forgiveness for whatever we have done…Please Don’t cancel the show !!!! I love watching the Browns and the way they live their lives…thank you Discovery Channel for bringing the Browns to us.

  3. The kids are stupid my 11 year old son is twice as smart.who’s fault parents.Uneducated kids.I have seen some really dumb things that if you are 2 percent smarter than what your working with you will succeed.now to lie about things on a app.is just asking for trouble.do I think they should be found guilty?HELL YES.the Alaska people have enough things to worry about.now these lying theifs take from them.lock them up.

  4. Look here’s my take!! This show is a Fake from jump street! Billy Brown never works always bosses his family around (I question if all these kids are really his) but he gives his insight all the time. I guess he’s a legend in his own mind, and his “in-bread children” look at him like he walks on water. To bad his boat sunk, don’t get me started on that. Did you see when the long hair idiot Noah said that his favorite story was one that his father (Billy Boy) wrote, how was it written, in crayon? These kids are lost not to mention STUPID. And what’s with the mother? when ever one of her (so called) sons brings up a girl (RUN) the 1st thing out of her toothless mouth is “do they want babies” c’mon please!!! Do you really believe they built “Brown Town”, or maybe it’s “Jones Town” just saying! I think the GOOD no GREAT people of Alaska need to go to Brown Town and get revenge for all that money dip shit stole. There’s to many people in Alaska with much better stories then these slow asses! Shame on you Discovery Channel!!!

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About Ryan Berenz 2166 Articles
Member of the Television Critics Association. Charter member of the Ancient and Mystic Society of No Homers. Squire of the Ancient & Benevolent Order of the Lynx, Lodge 49, Long Beach, Calif. Costco Wholesale Gold Star Member since 2011.