January 13, 2023 — Deadliest Catch, the reality television series that follows crab fishermen aboard fishing vessels will return next April, despite the red king crab season being closed by Alaskan authorities.
The reality television series that premiered on the Discovery Channel on April 12, 2005, and has been the base for a series of spinoffs will enter its 19th season this year. But the decision by the Alaskan Department of Fish and Game to close both the red king crab fishery and the Bering Sea snow crab fishery raised doubts about the viability of the show.
The show follows crab fishermen aboard fishing vessels in the Bering Sea during the crab fishing seasons. The base of operations for the fishing fleet is the Aleutian Islands port of Dutch Harbor, Alaska. Produced for the Discovery Channel, the show’s title is derived from the inherent high risk of injury or death associated with this line of work.
The show emphasizes the dangers on deck to the fishermen and camera crews as they duck heavy crab pots swinging into position, maneuver hundreds of pounds of crab across a deck strewn with hazards, and lean over the rails to position pots for launch or retrieval, while gale-force winds and high waves lash the deck constantly.
Deadliest Catch draws consistently high ratings for Discovery Channel; season 3 attracted more than 49 million viewers throughout the season and over 3 million viewers per first-run episode, making it one of 2007’s most successful programs on cable TV. Overall ratings for Deadliest Catch have always been good enough for the show to be renewed.