Has ‘Alaskan Bush People’ Quietly Been Canceled?

Martin Holmes March 11, 2025, 10:31 am

Is Alaskan Bush People returning? That’s what many fans are wondering as the popular Discovery Channel reality series remains on extended hiatus, and hasn’t aired a new episode since December 2022.

The network hasn’t officially canceled the show, which aired for 14 seasons between 2014 and 2022, but it also hasn’t provided a reason for the series’ disappearance. Many viewers thought that the death of the family patriarch, Billy Brown, in February 2021 might have contributed to the show being off the air. But no official reason has been forthcoming.

According to The U.S. Sun, Alaskan Bush People has no plans to film future episodes amid a $500,000 legal battle. The outlet reports that Billy’s business partner, Robert Maughon, filed a breach of contract lawsuit against the late star’s estate and business, Alaskan Wilderness Family Productions, in April 2021, just two months after Billy’s passing.

The filing, which lists Billy’s wife, Amora “Ami” Brown, as the defendant, includes a testimony in which Ami refers to Alaskan Bush People in the past tense, implying the series is over.

“Testimony acknowledging that the show ‘Alaskan Bush People’ ultimately had 14 seasons, with the last season being filmed in 2022,” the document reads, per The U.S. Sun.

The filing continues to refer to the reality series in the past tense, including a statement that reads, “These breaches occurred despite the significant profits generated by [Alaskan Wilderness Family Productions], particularly through the television series ‘Alaskan Bush People’ which was featured on the Discovery Channel network.”

In addition, Alaskan Bush People is not listed on Discovery Channel’s media page as one of the company’s properties. However, it does remain on the network’s main page, though there hasn’t been an update since September 2022.

The lawsuit stems from claims made by Maughon that he made a deal with Billy, in which the Brown patriarch agreed to pay him 10 per cent “of the gross income of Alaska Wilderness Family Productions from the creative works of Billy Bryan Brown, specifically including books, movies, television and documentaries.”

Maughon claims he has not received these payments.

Discovery has been dragged into the case, with the filing reading, “Plaintiff also anticipates issuing a trial subpoena for the appearance and testimony at trial of corporate representative of Discovery Networks regarding financial earnings from and payments related to the ‘Alaskan Bush People’ television program.”

Last month, Ami filed a motion to dismiss the claims, arguing the alleged contract was made in Alaska, where there is “no joint community obligation of a spouse for the debts of the other spouse.”

In April 2024, Billy and Ami’s son, Bear Brown, shared an update on the status of Alaskan Bush People, writing on Instagram, “Over the past year, I have been asked if there will be a new season of Alaskan Bush People, while I can’t answer that question at this time, I am excited to announce, Alaskan Bush People Behind The Scenes With Bear Brown.”

'Alaskan Bush People's Ami Brown is Home After Her Hospitalization

He continued, “It’s starting with the first season, I will be talking about both things in front of the camera, and behind it! The first episode is dropping summer 2024. In the meantime, you can stream all the old episodes of [Alaskan Bush People] on [Max].”

Bear hasn’t shared any further updates on the behind-the-scenes spinoff since then.

On February 13, Ami was medically evacuated and taken to hospital, where she was diagnosed with pneumonia. Her son Noah shared an update on February 15, saying in a TikTok video, “It looks like she might be coming back Monday and be released. That’d be like the earliest possible, apparently.”

He added, “So, yeah, again, thank you all for the well wishes and the prayers and everything. Oh, She had me a little bit worried, she did. Yeah, but she’s OK, she’s gonna be good. I’m just gonna move on from here.”

Noah confirmed on February 25 that his mom was back home.