On the next season of “Deadliest Catch” — none of the ships will have captains?

Shawn Norris

Well technically all ships have to have captains on them, but after an ugly lawsuit by the Discovery Channel pertaining to a breach-of-contract dispute, several of the captains on your favorite boats have decided to quit the show.

Crab fishing is obviously quite a dangerous job. I imagine risking life and limb for weeks at a time on the Bering Sea can take a lot out of a man. The constant worry of keeping your boat out of danger, reaching you quota, and keeping your crew safe in the bitter conditions near the Arctic Circle can be trying on a man. And now there is worry about Hollywood sharks in the water.

The network sued the Hillstrand brothers for $3 million, claiming they failed to come through on their promise to shoot a spin-off special, Hillstranded. Cameras rolled during business hours, but Discovery says the crab catchers didn’t make time to record voiceovers and otherwise take part in what was needed to round out the production.

Seems a bit of a harsh punishment for only a TV special. Sure,  the brothers were at fault here, though it’s probably not a great idea to sue someone for this kind of money and expect that the series will continue along as if nothing had happened. Obviously there are some facts here that the public is not privy to, but Discovery had to imagine something like this would happen when they hit the Hillstrands with this lawsuit. And with Deadliest Catch drawing between 5-8 million viewers a week, it seems a bit odd to try and play hardball with the stars of one of your most successful franchises.

hillstranded On the next season of “Deadliest Catch” — none of the ships will have captains?

The Deadliest Catch stars and captains of the deep-sea power scow Time Bandit, announced Tuesday that they’re leaving the hit series after being sued for breach-of-contract by the Discovery Channel. And they’re taking fan favorite Sig Hansen, captain of the Northwestern, along with them.

Yikes. After Phil Harris passed away last season, this news is sure to have an adverse affect on the show’s ratings. Going into next season (if there is one) the show would be down four of its most popular personalities — never a good sign, especially after the massive success the show had during the past season. Unless something gets worked out soon, this situation may very well be the beginning of the end for the popular reality series.

Deadliest Catch Captains, Including Sig, Quit the Show Over Lawsuit [E! Online]

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