When Deadliest Catch premiered in 2005, it showed the world the brutal reality of life at sea, exposing the dangers crab fishermen are constantly braving just to make a living. But despite all that, their commitment to the trade is what keeps them going season after season. As the show celebrates 20 years of being on air, Deadliest Catch Season 21 promises to send the crew on their riskiest expedition yet. As Captains Sig Hansen, Keith Colburn, and more fish for crab in a new, remote location, the show is switching things up, and the stakes are higher than ever before.
‘Deadliest Catch’ Season 21 Will Follow the Crew Through Uncharted Territory
In the latest season of the show, the Deadliest Catch fleet is heading out into truly uncharted territory. The Captains usually set sail on the Bering Sea from their Dutch Harbor base, and that is unpredictable and dangerous enough as it is. During the crabbing season, which lasts from October to January, the waters are rough. Freezing temperatures and strong winds threaten to derail even the most experienced crews. One can imagine, then, the kind of risks the captains might have to take when they are navigating unfamiliar waters. Deadliest Catch Season 21 will feature the fishermen heading west, all the way to Adak Island. What’s scarier is that the island is actually a former military base that hasn’t been part of the commercial crab circuit in over three years.
However, rumor has it that monster king crabs have returned to the waters near the island, and that kicks off the competition of a lifetime. As crews rush to claim their share of the billion-dollar bounty, they are faced with spotty communication and absolutely no way to go back home if their vessels break down. As per TV Insider, the official description of the show states that once the crew sets sail, they will be “beyond the bounds of rescue.” That phrase alone is enough to capture why Deadliest Catch Season 21 is different from all previous installments of the show. Sure, experience counts, but even the most seasoned captains will need to adapt to an un-mapped environment, and that is going to be a challenge like no other. If anything, the upcoming season of Deadliest Catch will be an honest portrayal of how, sometimes, the ocean decides a crew’s fate.
The Show Is Striking a Good Balance Between the New and the Old
In May, Captain Jake Anderson revealed that he and the F/V Titan Explorer will be part of the new season via Facebook. However, according to Parade, fans can expect to see Hansen’s Northwestern, Jonathan Hillstrand’s Time Bandit, Colburn’s Wizard, Steve Davidson’s Confidence, and Rick Shelford’s Aleutian Lady taking part in the gold-rush style competition.
The teaser trailer for the upcoming season shows just how intense things are bound to get. The sneak peek opens with Captain Hansen saying, “It’s unforgiving out there in the west.” That instantly sets the stage for the battle that is going to ensue once Season 21 premieres. The shot then cuts to a deckhand with blood pouring down their face, following Captain Anderson, visibly crying, as his crew is instructed to abandon ship in the wake of a mayday call. Without any flashy edits or dramatized conflicts, the trailer is horrifying enough to send chills down anyone’s spine.
‘Deadliest Catch’ Thrives on Its Gritty Realism
The show might be venturing off into unknown waters to bring something new to the table, but the producers also know better than to completely alienate longtime audiences. Like always, the show is bringing Mike Rowe back as the narrator. Rowe, who has headed out on a series of expeditions himself in the past, is returning to anchor the show’s deadliest season yet with his deep, rugged voice that the viewers are all too familiar with. This is just another one of the show’s methods of grounding itself in realism. Rowe might be watching everything from afar, but he is not a removed narrator by any means. He, too, has been seasoned by the brutality of the sea, so his narration comes with a sense of understanding and acknowledgment of the crew’s struggles.
At its core, Deadliest Catch has always tried to present a raw picture of nature at its most merciless. Unlike other reality shows that operate and shift strategies based on ratings, one can’t exactly script the situations these fishermen get themselves into as they do their jobs. From the captains to the deckhands and even the filming crew, everyone on a vessel is putting their safety at risk to tell stories worth preserving.
