Filming on Alaskan Bush People Season 8 seems to be in limbo.
And while theories abound, no one’s quite sure why. The production team hasn’t made an official statement.
It might be that they’re just delaying production for a short while, but fans worry that this hiatus is going to turn into a cancelation.
Considering that it wasn’t so long ago that fans of the series were mourning Season 7 as the last leg of the show, you’d think that Season 8’s unknown status wouldn’t be a surprise.
But a lot has changed.
Ratings in Season 7 did pretty well — and were certainly better than Life of Kylie‘s.
Part of that season’s storyline, however, followed Ami Brown’s lung cancer diagnosis and treatments.
Everything seemed like it was over as the family left the homestead that they had affectionately dubbed as “Browntown” and went into the “lower 48,” meaning the continental United States and not Alaska or Hawaii.
(Tonight’s special will deal further with that farewell; we have details on that below)
And it’s clear that nothing on the show, if it continues, will be the same.
Some of the siblings are, quite simply, not going back to live in the wilderness.
Noah Brown wants to become a small-town sheriff in Alaska.
That’s admittedly an odd dream, but he and his fiancee, Rhain, are welcome to live their lives however they like.
Gabe has grown increasingly camera-shy, so we don’t know how much of him we could expect to see on Season 8.
And Bam Bam? He’s rumored to be married. He might even be traveling to the tropics with that alleged wife … on a yacht.
That’s a great use of reality TV money if owning a yacht is your thing, but it might preclude him from fitting in with the vibe of the show.
Most of the family, it seems, is headed to Colorado.
(And we suspect that tonight’s special will cover a lot of that)
At the moment, though, various members of the Brown family are consistently being spotted in California.
While it would be nice if haters would be nicer to the Brown kids instead of trying to be “fashion police” about what look Gabe Brown sports when he goes to a Target, most fans like being able to keep up with the Brown family.
But if they’re all in civilization and in California instead of reveling in the wilderness of Colorado … what exactly is going on with the show?
The Facebook group, Alaskan Bush People Exposed, which is neither a fan group nor a hate group … despite having followers in both camps … has dug up plenty of information on the Brown family and the show’s production.
But even they are scratching their heads about what’s going on with the series. Here is what one of their admins posted just a couple of days ago:
“There seems to be some problems going on with this season’s filming, and we still are not sure why yet. There is no pre-production, production crew are not moving and so far, the Browns are still in CA. Everything seems to be at a standstill at the moment. We will update as soon as we get any further details.”
We really hope to learn more, soon.
We know that Ami Brown wants to continue to tell the story of her battle with cancer for the cameras.
Despite accusations that Ami or the show are exaggerating her cancer for dramatic effect, she has lung cancer and that could be very fatal.
Recently, Ami Brown finished a bout of chemotherapy.
That might not put her in great shape to be roughing it in the woods and building a new homestead in Colorado, but she’s expressed in the past that she wants to tell her story so that other people can see her fight against cancer.
It’s a frightening experience, and she hopes that watching her go through it could help prepare others for when they one day face the same uphill battle.
You can see how her various family members would want to rally around and support her as she continues her journey.
And, well … we’re sure that those reality TV dollars are a great motivator, too. Let’s be real.
Tonight, a 2-hour Alaskan Bush People special is scheduled to air.
Alaskan Bush People: Forging A New Future airs at 8pm.
The official description is this:
“As Ami prepares to undergo treatment for lung cancer, siblings Bear, Bird, and Rain work to give the family’s homestead back to the bush. The entire wolf pack must forge a new beginning using the skills they have acquired in the Alaskan wilderness.”
It might be that they’re waiting for fan reactions before they decide how to proceed.
Maybe they want to gauge ratings?
It might be that producers already know what’s coming next, but are waiting until after the episode airs to share more.
For the moment, we just don’t know.
