Is Alaskan Bush People fake? Does it matter?

Alaskan Bush People Fake

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

Alaskan Bush People Fake

“You do not choose Dance Moms,” Lori Acken once said. “It chooses you.”

Lori writes brilliantly about top-flight shows with interviews of stars high atop the A list, yet she could not unburden herself of the Abby Lee Miller albatross. Her weekly recaps of a terrible show about generally unpleasant people were wildly successful, but I did not envy her.

In early 2014, our editorial staff was looking for the next Dance Moms. We had success covering brand-new, somewhat obscure reality shows on cable networks (regrettably, no one cared about quality shows on the broadcast networks). The idea was to try to get on the ground floor of niche shows that few media outlets were going to cover. The pond is smaller, but we’d be the only ones fishing in it.

Our editor in chief, Barb Oates, has a keen eye for what reality TV shows and personalities tend to draw interest (i.e. controversy). She attended the TV critics press tour and was there for a panel Animal Planet held for this new Alaskan Bush People show about backwoods Billy Brown, his wife, and their seven kids. Barb said the Bush People were a hoot, and one of us should write a recap of the premiere episode. Discovery Channel (the show got promoted to the mothership) had sent us a link to an online screener, and a quick recap of the highlights seemed like something I could bang out quickly.

I watched the first episode and was bored within 10 minutes (the flat tire). Within 40 minutes I was disappointed (the tree almost falling on Bam). And by the end of the episode, I was skeptical (Lumber Guy Rick). The Browns didn’t seem all that “bush” with their SUV, using milled lumber to build their house and running back into town for everything. I learned nothing about living in the wild other than burying meat and digging “hip holes” where you sleep. And, on the most fundamental level, it made no sense that someone who truly wants to live off the grid in the Alaskan wilderness would desire to put himself and his family on a reality TV show, one of the aforementioned grid’s waste products. I posted a mildly snarky recap, relieved that I wouldn’t need to do another one, because nobody was going to watch this show, at least not for very long.

And then Alaskan Bush People chose me.

I was shocked that people were not only watching this show, but they had strong opinions about it. Many of the commenters on that original recap weren’t convinced that this family was real, that their accents were fake, that their clothes weren’t practical for the bush, etc. Many other commenters loved the Browns and wanted to live with them, pray for them or write them checks. I was amused that people got worked up over Not Yet Another Alaska Docudrama Show. And I was pissed that I would have to keep watching it and writing about it.

(Digression! That’s the media culture now. Everything has to be EXTREME to break through the noise. Whether it’s extremely good or extremely bad does not matter. You don’t get excited about TV shows that are OK. You don’t share YouTube videos about sensible people doing rational things. You get excited about stuff that is legitimately AWESOME or stuff that is so bad that it becomes AWESOME in its badness. Guess which one applies to Alaskan Bush People.)

Alaskan Bush People Dumpster Fire

I snarky snark snarked my way through two more episodes, trying to appreciate the show on an ironic level. It wasn’t until “Fight or Flight” that I had my Plato’s Cave moment. The “shooting” incident marked a point in which ABP had gone from a contrived docuseries to something outright deceptive. A commenter tipped me off to Zaz Hollander’s investigative piece in the Alaska Dispatch News, and I’d never see the show the same way again. You can’t get the toothpaste back in the tube. I went from wondering what was fake to just assuming everything was fake. And then in June Discovery aired “The Wild Life” special in which the Browns protested too much that they were real and tried to explain the show’s inconsistencies. Billy backed off his “government burned our cabin down” statement, so now you have cause to doubt the very reason for this show existing in the first place.

Discovery couldn’t (or wouldn’t) tell me if the show was going to be picked up for Season 2, but I assumed it was. A few months passed with no word. And then in late October, 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.

The Browns crossed from simple, harmless reality-TV smoke-and-mirrors land into the realm of criminal fraud accusations. And these aren’t just your everyday, run-of-the-mill, bad-check-cashing fraud allegations. This is fraud that, if proved, collapses the entire Brown Family Universe. I prematurely pronounced Alaskan Bush People dead and canceled. No way Discovery was going to continue with it after this, right?

I was wrong. (FRAUD!) The ADN again had the story. New episodes of ABP were being filmed, but no Season 2 premiere date was announced. I maintained the believe-it-when-I-see-it attitude, but then the announcement came and Season 2 premiered Jan. 2.

Season 2 was brutal to watch. At the end of Season 1, I expected ABP, if it returned, to be even more absurd. And it was. What I didn’t expect was Season 2 to be IDENTICAL TO SEASON 1 BUT OVER TWICE AS LONG! We suffered through eight episodes to only get to the MIDSEASON FREAKIN’ FINALE? Maybe we’ll discover all of Season 2 was just a dream Billy had while comatose. My guess is we’re going to get maybe two more episodes like “The Wild Life” with unaired footage and more half-assed explanations of how everything is real and we’re all idiots.

That’s how we got to now. Thanks for getting this far. Now what?

There’s been a changing of the guard at Discovery Channel, and it may determine the future of ABP. Discovery networks have taken a beating over their pseudoscience shows like those about mermaids, Megalodon and real scientists getting duped into contributing to fake Shark Week shows. New Discovery Channel president Rich Ross seems to understand this, and appears to be taking the network in a different direction by expanding its slate of scripted programming, particularly history-based dramas. Ross fielded questions about that at the TV Critics Association Winter Press Tour in January, as reported by Broadcasting & Cable:

[Ross] also addressed the network’s current slate of unscripted programming, signaling that a shift in tone is imminent. Asked whether projects such as Mermaids and other documentaries with fictional elements will continue to have a place at the network, Ross said, “It’s not whether I’m a fan of it. I don’t think it’s actually right for Discovery, for Discovery Channel, and it’s something that I think has in some ways run its course. I don’t think you’ll be sitting here next year asking me a question about something I put on, whether it’s a series or a special, that that’s the dilemma.”

Ross pointed to another new hire — that of John Hoffman as executive VP of documentaries and specials, announced Thursday morning — when fielding a question about criticism from the scientific community about Discovery’s Shark Week programming.

“[Hoffman] has a long history of telling great and authentic stories and working with scientists and doctors and everybody in between,” Ross said. “It was not just a signal. It was a message that it’s very important to us and very important to me that when people are telling stories and delivering information that it’s true and that it can be entertaining as well.”

Based on that, I imagine Ross leading an angry mob of Discovery Channel execs to chase the Brown family off Chicago Bears Island and off the network’s lineup for good. Then there’s this in the news today:

Discovery’s Gold Rush was the number one program in all of television among men for the eighth consecutive week while Alaskan Bush People was the number one program on cable for women on Friday, February 20 in L+3. “The Brown family and everyone’s favorite gold miners from Gold Rush on Friday nights have continued to build an audience with viewers of all ages,” Denise Contis, EVP of production and development, tells Cynopsis. “We’re excited so many men, women, and their families have invited Discovery Channel into their homes each Friday night.”

Ratings competition is fierce. Discovery Communications is a business, not a public service for the common good. Squeezing every last ratings point out of low-budget unscripted fare is good business for them, at least in the short term. I don’t see how Discovery jeopardizing the credibility of its cornerstone Shark Week franchise or cramming its schedule with phony Bush People benefits its brand over time.

Let’s shoot down the “If you don’t like it, don’t watch it!” argument. If the viewers who hated on the show stopped watching, the audience would be a third of what it is and the show would be canceled. There’s as much fun and entertainment to be had in hating a TV show, personality or character as there is in legitimately enjoying one. [Update: Watch this analysis debunking the Don’t Like, Don’t Watch argument]

TV critics and bloggers fittingly call it “hate-watching.” This is how the Kardashians remain in the spotlight. It’s better to be hated than to be ignored. Your hate has made them powerful.

 

HatersGonnaWatch

Shows like ABP are designed to be absurd. Doing and saying stupid things, and building failed huts out of plastic wrap are all part of the Brown family’s act. Eventually their act will wear thin (if it hasn’t already) and they won’t be worth hatin’ on any more. The show will be canceled and the Browns will go to wherever they go when they’re not pretending to live in the bush, or wherever the Alaska justice system determines they should go.

(Digression! Of course, ABP getting canceled is not in my best professional interest. Someone actually pays me to watch it and write about it. Real money, too! Stuff I can use to buy food that my children will refuse to eat.)

Suspension of disbelief allows us to immerse ourselves into dramatic works. I have intelligent friends who love pro wrestling. It’s perfectly acceptable to watch and enjoy the Browns as they’re depicted onscreen for an hour a week. Maybe you think Bear is a riot. Maybe you really want the boys to settle down with some nice bush girls. Maybe you’re really happy Ami finally got her home with an ocean view. More power to you. Just stay off the Internet.

I can’t ignore the implausibility. I can’t invest in the Browns, because I’m not biting on anything they’re casting onscreen. And everything I’ve read about their lives offscreen just makes me pity those viewers who’ve swallowed hook, line and sinker. The Browns will barter them for more dental work.

Next week, check out my treatise on the unequivocal authenticity of MTV’s Pimp My Ride.

12 Comments

  1. The bush reality show of the Browns is pathetic, they are a bunch of toothless assholes that have no clue in how to live in the wild.
    For a family that is supposed to have lived in the woods most of their life have no idea what they are doing and therefore proves that they are fake and disgusting people that want to take advantage of whatever they can, they are despicable people and deserve nothing, just remember bush fags karma is a bitch and you all will get what’s coming to you in a big way.
    The kids are dumber than a box of rocks and their names are stupid, I hope they all burn in hell for betraying viewers and just remember us normal Americans aren’t as stupid as you toothless assholes!!!!
    Bam is a no good retarded douch bag that thinks he’s the king, well he’s actually stupid dumb ass that knows nothing, I hate him and wish he would die, if I had a brother like him I would bash his face in and feed him to the wolves.
    I can’t explain enough how stupid and fake these assholes are and it just discusses me that there even on tv, I think the the brothers are fucking their sisters which is also disgusting!! Matt is so damn sit headed that I would be ashamed to have a sin like him and would have given him up for adoption when he wad born, gave needs to to cut his fagot side burns its stupid like him, the to girls are so gross they should just put them in hike cover them up and take there losses.
    I can’t explain enough how despicable and fake this family is and should be taken off the air!!;

  2. I like this show a lot. Whether or not it is truthful all of the time shouldn’t bother anyone. It is television which means entertainment. I would rather my family watch this show than most others. It has clean language and a faithful family and love. I would also like to say that I agree with the person who wrote that millions of people take advantage of government funds. I live in Connecticut and I see it all the time. The Browns deserve a chance to make up for the mistakes they made! If they pay back the money it shouldn’t be a big deal. Who hasn’t made mistakes. We are human. Even if they purposely defrauded the Alaskan government they did it because they needed to. Sometimes we do things we know we shouldn’t because we have to. My family and I will continue to watch this show.

  3. Honesty, millions of dishonest people within the states file false information and steal daily from the government in receiving assistance for food stamps, housing, etc! The Browns claim(s) are revealed only because of their popular TV Show. Somebody is always hating on someone else who finally gets a decent break in life that they don’t have! How many Reality Shows are “For Real”? Please!! At least I can watch this show without the need of the Ratings pushing “Nasty Trash Mouths” talking about their sex drives or the lack of! At least this show is about a family striving to work together and NOT trashing other people to elevate themselves! I am positive that we all have ugliness that would be revealed, if the cameras stayed on our lives 24/7! Give the Browns a break! My family will keep watching!!

    • If you could cite a verifiable number for the “millions of people” who are taking improper advantage of welfare and its source, that would go very far in helping you make your case.

  4. I want to know who or what the adult males are bloinking. What 20 / 30 something ? Healthy? Man still living with their mommy’s in the ” Bush” doing someone ( sister) which would make them sick f***ks.
    Kinda freaks me out a little. Answer or introduce the crazy “women” involved with “taking care of their needs” or arrest them for gross sexual misconduct

  5. It is just another show with people that pretend to be someone they are not. It is called entertainment television. The kind of show you watch when you just want to relax. Love it or hate it; it is fun to watch and point out all the discrepancies. And the winners are the Browns. They can afford to make fools of themselves they laugh all the way to the bank. And I am sure they get a big chuckle knowing some people think this is their real life. Unfortunately Discovery was unable to curtail the casts illegal activities and now Discovery is looking like the biggest fool.

  6. I would like to know how much time do they really spend in Brown town??? All I ever see is pictures of hotel rooms, walking around town and in the diner….it seems like they live there (town) and for the show Brown town they live there ????? Don’t get me wrong I love the show, but the pictures have me wondering. Why not fix Bird’s tooth???

    Love the show!!!

  7. At least the show is something the whole family…can watch Not one grizzly murder scene which seems that is about all people think is a GOOD THING. Just not enough blood, Eh…

  8. what harm does gilligans island do, well if they produced it to get retarded fools to endanger themselves, it would do harm, they never claimed their life was superior and available to the unhappy. I myself as a kid wanted to go there, but even as a child i knew it was b.s.
    the browns are duping fools who are told repeatedly they are living a lifestyle that in reality would kill one or more them were they to try, so next time a discovery staff employee comes here to pretend there is no danger from this show, remind them about grizzleyman, or the papa pilgrim debacle and let them cash their check hoping nobdy died from thinking stupid shit, like the fall is a good time to go ‘bush’ and homebuilding in the snow is no big deal, had they been true bush people a lot of discussions would be about frostbite taking toes and fingers, they got their toes and fingers and don’t discuss frostbite stories about their friends and neighbors because Texans don’t get frostbit too often and these Texans are conartist losers. hope the Alaskans in prison like texas style analrape, (same hole but lubed with hotsauce) at least as much as they like Alaska style analrape (spitlubed)
    <note to billys future cellmate, the money he and his family stole from the state of Alaska, helped them determine that baloney is to expensive for lunch tomorrow, enjoy the peanut butter and jelly sandwich with tapwater chaser.

  9. I am not a huge fan of the show but you say as much absurd stuff in you write up as they have in the show…. Here is an idea..Let it go just as I have!!!

  10. Do people actually believe any reality television show is completely truthful ? I can understand watching TV for entertainment or boredom etc. but if you believe anything you see on any TV show( aka FANTASY WORLD)you don’t have a clue about the reality of $how business. Truth and accuracy is wayyyyyy below $$$$$$$. It shouldn’t be rocket science.

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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.