Many reality TV shows have fans debating whether they’re “real” or “fake” these days. One pretty unique Discovery Channel show is now being thrown into question. Some people are convinced Deadliest Catch scenes are “fake” but there are explanations for many aspects of filming…

Deadliest Catch is a TV show unlike many others. The reality TV series has seen many lives lost at sea, and much heartbreak for its cast. Life aboard a crabbing boat is rough, filled with injuries and fatalities as the crew spend their days on the unpredictable Bering Sea.

Deadliest Catch ‘fake’ rumors

Being a crab fisherman certainly can’t be easy – we’ve learned that much from Deadliest Catch.

However, some people watching the show are convinced that hauling pots 24 hours a day gets boring, so “fake” scenes are created to keep the show interesting.

Controversial “filler shots,” are reportedly created in order to put together a package for TV viewers.

But, per Grunge, an incident on the Wizard reportedly had some scenes filmed in different months, they were then put together for TV, but it wasn’t actually true to the timeline of events at sea.

John Ford, Discovery president, made an official statement about the scene.

He explained how there’s reason for any extra bits filmed for the show, such as for “technical reasons.” If a shot is filmed and it’s “out of shot” it would have to be re-filmed at another time.

Pick up shots don’t mean the scenes or stories are “made up,” the president added: “…nothing needs to be made up.”

The waves are real, right?

Since Deadliest Catch has been filming for many years, fans have a lot of footage to work with when it comes to critiquing its “reality.”

Taking to a Reddit thread this year, some fans questioned whether the events shown on Deadliest Catch are “real.”

Making a joke of some of the critics’ comments, one fan wrote: “The waves are real… right? Or are they filmed in a massive pool in Burbank?!?”

They added: “I bet some things are real. Original Productions can’t account for everything out there. But it has scripted so many scenes over so many years, it just makes more sense for people to think most of an episode is.”

Although the sea and weather conditions clearly are real, the “drama” appears to have “gotten too much” for many viewers.

One commented: “I stopped watching because of the drama I mean it has just gotten way too out of hand.”

More suggested they think the show isn’t entirely “real,” writing: “Too much scripted stuff and it makes the captains very unlikable…”

Captains are ‘reliable cast’

Comparing today’s Deadliest Catch episodes to when the show first began in 2005, some fans said they missed how the series used to focus on the individual crew members working on the boats.

However, nowadays, they’re convinced the show is just all about the captains and their “drama.”

Defending this standpoint on the Reddit thread, another person suggested the captains are the most “reliable cast” to follow, as many of the crew members have come and gone over the 19 seasons.

More said: “I love Sig but the scripted stuff with Mandy and her husband is putting me off also the fake backstabbing between captains…”

The focus of Deadliest Catch may have altered since the series first began but the people featured are all real captains and crew.

And since Sig and the rest of the captains have been around for so long, it makes sense for them to be the main characters of the Discovery Channel show.