We have some good news for Alaskan Bush People fans…
… and also some really terrible news for Alaskan Bush People fans.
Unfortunately, the importance of the latter far outweighs the importance of the former.
But we’ll start with a programming update:
The long-awaited eighth season of this Discovery Channel hit will premiere on August 24 at 9/8c. Set your DVR and plan your upcoming vacations accordingly.
The really terrible news, however, has to do with just what these new episodes will focus on.
According to Radar Online, Ami Brown’s cancer has returned — and this tragic circumstance will serve as the crux of what fans will see on screen later this summer and later this fall.
“Ami went to UCLA with Billy and son Bear, and her cancer is back,” an insider has told the aforementioned celebrity gossip site.
Darn it. This sucks.
We reported in late May that Ami checked back into a California hospital in order to have further tests run.
At the time, however, we were still awaiting the results of these tests and had not heard any confirmation about the return of Ami’s illness.
The mother of seven was diagnosed with late-stage lung cancer last year.
Her prognosis at the time was grim, but undergoing numerous rounds of radiation and chemotherapy, the reality star announced she was cancer-free in December 2017.
For some awful reason, fans had taken this remission to mean that Ami never had cancer, an assertion that Discovery Channel Executive Vice President Laurie Goldberg had to actually address a few weeks back.
“Ami’s battle with cancer is very real,” Goldberg said at the time, adding:
“It is just disgusting that anyone would say her cancer is not real or that it was created for the show.”
Seriously. Not even the Kardashians would conjure up a cancer storyline for the sake of ratings.
This latest Radar report makes us feel sad, but also asks that fans remain optimistic.
That’s the approach Ami and her loved ones are trying to take.
“She is still dealing with some residual effects of her diagnosis and treatment, but she is continuing to recover well,” the insider says.
“She has the love and support of her entire family, and is determined to beat this.”
This same source concludes that the new season of Alaskan Bush People will tell a significant chunk of Ami’s story.
Not for the sake of ratings.
But simply because this show chronicles the lives of the Browns and this diagnosis is obviously the most important thing going on in those lives right now.
“It’s going to be a huge part of the upcoming season, and there will be interviews with her doctors and other medical professionals who have helped her along the way,” the source says.
Alaskan Bush People is currently filming for the new season in Washington state, far from the family’s native Alaska.
Expect plenty of changes to be afoot, except for one key one: the entire family will be involved.
