Alaskan Bush People has been a hit on The Discovery Channel for years.
Viewers are simply taken with a family that lives essentially off the grid, relying on one another for food, shelter and other basic life items.
Amidst new outcries over the show being fake, however, here"s a rundown of a few facts, tidbits and stories about the Browns that this family may not want you to know…
1. The Show is Based on a Book
Billy Brown published “One Wave at a Time” in 2007, after which his family spoke to many producers, negotating for the book to be made into a show. According to Capital City Weekly, the Browns returned to Alaska with a production crew “to recreate the journey described in the book.”
2. From One Season to… Who Knows?
Meant to be a one-season-only documentary, Alaskan Bush People was repackaged into an ongoing series. Which doesn’t mean the whole thing was fake… but it does mean the family plotted all along for their adventures to be documented on television.
3. They May Have Lied About Their Cabin
During the first season, Billy said the government burned down his family’s cabin because it was “in the wrong location on public land.” But there’s no evidence this happened and Brown changed his tune on season two, simply saying the cabin burned down when he wasn’t home.
4. About That Isolation?
Neighbors actually complained to the Alaska Dispatch-News about the production of the Browns during season one, that’s how close by they were, while the family’s supposedly remote compound was down the street from a pizza restaurant.
5. Was It Ever Really BROWNtown?
According to a former employee of the U.S. Forest Service, the Browns didn’t actually own Browntown. They were leasing it via a special-use permit. “They have a 7 year lease on the PRIVATE land; which is, in fact, owned by relatives of the mayor of Hoonah,” writes an Internet user named Tim as a comment on a Channel Guide Mag article.
6. Remember Chichagof Island?
At one point, the Browns relocated to Chichagof Island, which The Discovery Channel described as “deeper into the wilderness.” However, Chichagof Island is actually a popular destination spot that can be found on the marketing site Travel Alaska and it boasts “the world’s largest and highest zip line,” as well as “a museum, local arts and crafts shops, restaurants and a mid-1930’s cannery line display.”