User reviews

This show, while it may be staged, is uber cringey and horrifyingly entertaining; much like a train wreck.

They leave all of their idiotic, uninformed, asinign decisions/choices up to "The Good Lord" and take absolutely no personal responsibility (because the "Good Lord will take care of us") Then they make up ridiculous excuses for every single thing that fails (ie: everything.) They seem to be immune to learning from their mistakes which they make over and over again, often in the exact same way) yet they have gigantic egos and would die before they'd admit they were wrong.

At every opportunity the parents proclaim that they live this way in order to be free yet they've created an unhealthy codependent demi-cult out of their kids who have absolutely zero freedom. Can you say Stockholm Syndrome?

None of them have the ability to survive in the real world or to live independently- isn't that the antithesis of freedom?

Adults playing with dolls? A grown man acting like a hyperactive four-year-old? Declaring that you are the modern-day Leonardo Da Vinci?

Billy and Ami are so excited to finally have grandchildren. They must have forgotten that they already had two grand daughters from Twila, the daughter Billy abandoned before marrying Ami. Billy was supremely selfish in all that he did while consistently claiming it was all for the family. He groomed under-aged Ami for brainwashing and raised their children the same way.

To be fair, never once do they claim to be year-round "bush people" so I don't have a problem with that as some do. Another plus is they produced some of the best quotes I've heard on any tv show: Mr. Cupcake, get out of my teepee! (But don't even get me started on how horribly trained that dog is.) And: (Bear) I don't mind leaving all my weapons because I AM a weapon! (Gabe responds) No, you're more of a tool.

Yeah, Gabe. Astute as always. (Look it up.) Oh, and great drinking game potential: drink every time Bear days Extreme, or every time Billy says I really am, or every time Bam is negative or every time someone says the good lord or every time their hair-brained psudo-plans go off the rails or every time they mispronounce a basic word or use a long, drawn out nasal Uhhhh as a sentence filler. (Warning: the above suggestions will definitely result in alcohol poisoning.) PLEASE BIRD- GET THEE TO A DENTIST! If Gabe deserves braces, so do you. Your parents both have full dentures but there's still hope for you.

After seeing how socially incompetent they are, I also understand if some of it was staged with the "townies." Normal people would need to be forewarned about these people so they wouldn't just run away upon meeting those boys.

Ugh, the wives. They are just overbearing enough to make the boys feel like they're marrying their mother (or their sister,) but whatever. You do you.

I've wondered how they'd do on an actual survival show such as Alone (Jordan rules.) I doubt any of them would make it a single day. It would be more interesting, maybe, to see them try to live in the real world but without the "wolfpack." I think the youngest daughter, Rain, is the only one with any potential.

If any of them escape to live a truly free life it's going to require years of therapy. Shame on Billy and Ami and shame on Discovery. Exploit idiots much?

It's hard to enjoy the sensible, good things the Browns accomplish because they are constantly doing so much more destructive, stupid, ignorant stuff that people just don't normally do while living/surviving in the wild with the bare necessities. For me, all the ignorance overrides the good stuff. I can't begin to express the letdown, so I usually just shake my head & change the channel to get my head back together. This makes their show just a big joke most of the time. The show raises the question of how much is real & how much is played up due to all the misfortune that occurs, especially since they are supposed to be living in an environment that is so harsh & has so many obstacles on a constant basis. This repetitive break & fix lifestyle just doesn't fit any way of life & especially the Alaskan way of life. If it does, then these people need to find another way more suitable for their mentality. I watch all the other Alaskan shows & this show looks like a "Three Stooges" version as compared to others! Maybe that's what they strive for, who knows! I am an older person that grew up on a farm doing farm work by hand & with horses so I am quite familiar with basic means of survival & I am quite proud of it. Success was based on doing things correctly the first time for numerous reasons & we did not constantly fix stupid/drastic mistakes or take so lightly of them if something did go wrong. Granted, this was West Virginia & not in Alaska, but it was still rugged & offered a lot of lessons to be learned about life. I've probably seen every episode of the Browns so I'm not just basing my statements on lack of info. Enough said I guess. I felt as if I had to vent.

ROTFLMAO! This show is actually campily entertaining. Yeah, probably the fakest thing in reality TV, even nudging aside Hardcore Pawn and Amish Mafia, but the fact that the old man is currently staring at some serious hard time along with the adult sons makes this must-see TV! I can't wait to see how the fraud charges are portrayed, probably a plot by some neighbors who resent the helicopters.

Only thing is that Discovery was once known for quality. Sad. TLC was once known as The Learning Channel, too.

Here's hoping that Nat Geo doesn't turn into trash-TV too. We need some of these networks to keep churning out actual quality, no matter how much fun these fake-fests are.

Phony show written about ficticious family living off the land in Alaska. It took me two years to convince a friend that this show was totally scripted. This family has not owned land in Alaska and when not filming live in the lower 48. This got them in trouble with the State of Alaska when it was determined they took advantage of a state program that is only available to full time residents. Crooks they are.

I was born in Ak and I love this show! Are they fake? I don't think so. And do a lot of people live that way? YES! Once you leave the towns and cities, Half the people are off grid. There are a lot of bush people in Ak! (and more then half are crazy! and will shoot you if you step on their land) I personally do not live like that but I know some that do and my grandpa did. Yes you can shave every day in the bush. The eye docs. have a drawer that has free glasses in them. We also have the PFDs that every Alaskan gets, so buying 5gs of lumber is possible since we get PFDs in the begging of Oct. and it usually starts snowing by the end of Oct. so the time line of suddenly having money is right on, even for new clothes or eye glasses( thats when I buy clothes and stuff for my family). the towns folks helping them build the cabin, Totally believable! Im from a small community and when our house burnt down, well more like WHILE our house was still burning we already had the entire town helping us. Im sure they do have licenses to hunt, (even on state land) since you can get a license for that and much more, besides 90% of Alaskans have fishing and hunting licenses anyway and the law is different for the people who survive on wild game. When you get out in the small communities survival is first and foremost (bartering food is between the two)besides the local customs do not always get pressed under the law. There is a line of flexibility with (some) things in the smaller communities. As for their speech? Honestly I think they taught themselves to talk. If the older one had a speech impediment, then its not unbelievable to have the younger ones pick that up. One of the brown boys wears a leather coat. That too believable. You get acclimated to the temp. I have a friend that has stood outside when it was 30- below talking with someone. I eventually had to go to the car freezing!! while she stayed out there for another 15-20 min. like it was nothing. I don't know how but there are some Alaskans that can handle it and love it. (and we call them snowbirds) I think the browns are for real, but I think the producers could possibly do a little better at editing the show. However it is still fun to watch and I hope to see them back on soon.

I cannot believe that people think that the brown's are not related. all the boys resemble each other and snowbird looks EXACTLY like her mother when she was younger, i.e the older picture when Billy's hair is still brown. Ami's genes are all over those children. Now, as far as how fake it is, ALL reality is BS, and yet we idiots keep on watching, so if you don't approve of this show, DON'T WATCH IT!!! the discovery channel has been lying to it's viewers for years. It's not Nat Geo. Sorry. This show is still not near as bad as the Amish Mafia!! What I like is how kind the family is and how they care about each other. Matt is a little irritating, a little HD. and Bam, although grumpy is usually right! His father and brothers rush through and it becomes a sh** sandwich. But that's family life!!

I was HONESTLY born and raised in Ketchikan Alaska. One afternoon I was in a local bar having a beverage with friends and this guy comes running into the bar, looks around and says ,"YOU!" He runs over and asks if my friend wanted to be on reality TV show. laughing, my friends and i all thought it would be funny if she did! so we walked across the street to a little store they had roped off the streets to, with PLEASE BE QUIET FILIMG IN PROGRESS signs on the window. The producer told me it was a new reality show they were making (unnamed at the time) and told her she was girl #2 and to walk into the store and what the guy (noah) would say to her, hit on her and to reject him and walk out of the store. Whole thing was set up and loosely scripted! with different takes and all! Later that year we saw the show on TV and WERE SO RELIEVED that they didn't use the scene she was in because it is such a ridiculous embarrassing show. All i have heard about these people from friends in Ketchikan is that a few of the older boys do hard drugs, they trash all rooms, lots, and property they squat in/on with trash and filth. AND to top it all off they are all in deep trouble right now for not being real alaskan citizens or living here and getting our perm fund dividend money for YEARS!!! This is something us alaskans do NOT take lightly. seems they started believing their own lies and thought their tales for TV were reality! WELL WE SAY lock this slime ball Billy up and make an example out of these fake idiots! How in the hell can a man be so self righteous and proud of his family when all he does is let them down and teach them to make bad decisions and to be happy with failure! I hope that part of the show is just as fake as the rest. Go ahead and watch this show if you want to learn the exact opposite of what to do to survive in the wilderness.

I'm not sure how much of the Brown Family story I believe. I can't imagine how the spend their off-camera hours. I believe that "Bear" can climb trees and catch fish with his hands. I believe that Noah is strong as an ox. I believe Birdie can actually shot as well as any of the men. I believe that Rainy is a cute little girl with a great personality.

I'm sure that it's hard to capture everyday life, and make it fun and exciting. That obviously call for a little scripting. So WHAT??? I enjoy watching them act like nuts! If it's all fake, then it's no worse than The Three Stooges or Little Rascals. BUT, if most of it is even close to fact based, it is so much more!!! Either way, don't blast me for watching because I enjoy it almost as much as any program currently airing on way too many channels that offer NOTHING!!! I'd like to visit Brown Town someday!!!

Chuck Welch 65 year old US Army Veteran

This show is very entertaining, if you don't take it too seriously. In the latest episode, did you catch the shot of the light bulb on the ceiling of the tire house? If you blinked, you missed it. So, where did the electricity come from? It would be interesting to see them have power from solar panels and/or a generator so they really could have electricity in the big house. What do they do for fresh water? People living off the grid can dig a well and pump water.

The kids are all cute, but I don't like to see them bickering. It would be a mistake to let this show descend to the level of the "mean T-V" reality shows. There's enough of that in everyday life. When we sit down to the T-V at the end of the day, we want to be entertained, not see more of what has already stressed us out.

I like the way the parents are very loving and respectful of each other, no matter what they have been through. I do enjoy this show, even if it's obvious that it's staged. How else would you get anything interesting to see? I hope the family is making good money from this and that they take care of their health.

I love this show. Maybe they marketed it incorrectly, but it is still interesting. How can you not feel for this family? What an awesome lifestyle they are living. Is there anyone who hasn't, at one time or another wanted to just disappear and live this way? Their devotion to family is admirable and something that should be emulated. I look forward to watching them every week. Their devotion to each other and motto of never give up, never surrender, is one that many more people need to grasp in this fast food, instant gratification word most of us live in. All the critics out there need to go climb a tree and punch a fish.

This couldn't be more poorly scripted TV if they tried. A family of fake hardships and ridiculous scenarios. How people can watch this garbage is beyond me. I actually saw a few episodes one really stood out. The "inventor" of the family I believe Noah? Was "creating some worthless gadget that a true Bushman wouldn't need. While creating this he compared himself to Da Vinci? Are you kidding me? The only comparison to Da Vinci I can see is the both had hair. Let's not mention the Extreme Idiot that acts and talks like a 5 year old. There is little reality in this TV. The really scary part of this show is the fact that they are starting to re-produce!!

I am a 4th generation Alaskan out of the Southeast, that grew up in a remote logging camp. I've logged, commercial fished, and worked jobs all over the state. I have even actually seen the Brown Family in local communities. First off, this show is completely staged. I get that many Americans respect and admire their way of living but this is completely fake. Do people in Alaska live successfully in the bush?... Yes, I grew up doing it. Currently, the Brown family is all over local Alaskan news because they are wanted for Perma Fund Fraud (Collecting State Resident Benefits) when in fact they are not officially state residents. Yet, court dates have been pushed back due to the power of the Discovery Channel and the media. Last I heard they are set for court in July on Felony charges. I know the Browns were living in a cabin in Craig during part of season 1 according to the local community/family friends out there and filming episodes in the bush temporarily. I know the also resided in Myers Chuck before being kicked out. This leads to where they now. Among the Alaskan community they have little respect. After all the they tried to barter fish with my local dentist who claimed the show was fake. To state it simply for those Alaskans out there... who sets crab pots in Alaska without knowing the proper depths and sinks their own pots?? And then goes out at dusk to pull them... later to be rescued. Seems idiotic, clueless, and staged. This is a money hole show that is allowing this family to thrive.

OK, call me crazy but- I do not like always watching shows that have so much crime, smut, and drugs. So I rated this really high, and (no I do not do any drugs). It is nice to see people getting along working together, and really love each other without excessively slaved to cash to survive. Also, I think people should learn from the programs. Do you know how to survive? The other shows I have watched, ha, you know anybody that does not have a lighter, have extra stuff in case your car breaks down, or food-water, to keep you alive till your out of a situation. I do believe that this family did live the required time to gain property by homesteading, and were not given any time to leave with their property. I do believe the life there is hard, and I would go there to live and enjoy the beauty of that state. Most people would not live there if given a chance. As far as the items they have, I believe that I saw a program with Mr. Brown in a contest for longest mustache,(a regular contest for longest beard and stash). Wouldn't be nice to see barter working out for people in need, rather than cost,demand, and profit. As far as their accent, every state has regional distinctions, I can tell what side of Chicago your from by the way you dress, speak, and your attitude, so, people can really learn more than just living a few blocks from where they grew up. We all need to have open minds for the next few years, and work with whom ever we come to meet in our lives.

The show can be fake, it is still entertaining and amusing to watch.

Y'all shunned the world but then when you needed it you took the money and ran. Wow

I raised four wonderful boys for years in much of the same way, some times were tough, there is always more. Sorry I only have four boys, If I had any daughters I would be sure to get her in touch with the family. More of the younger generation needs to be in touch with nature and what is like to enjoys the simpler things in life, put down the computer phones, text ting, and drugs / alcohol. I could have only wish all family bonds were as strong as the Browns. The bond between this family seems to be unbreakable. Wish I could help the family out of the town they are in and get them back into nature where they belong. Please bring back the show, can not wait to see you More.

The music is way too loud! I would like to see you lower the volume of music so that we can hear the vocal from each episode. I would rather hear the vocal part of the program instead of the actual vocal part of the program. Please make the musical part a background part of the series and let us hear the vocal part of the program. I love the program but oftentimes the music is way too loud to understand what is being said. I hope you will read this review and understand what is important here.....we need to understand what is being said. It is important to know what is being said so that we can understand the lifestyle this family is trying to relay.

It never ends. They don't build anything, they appear to build something on a new land they finally found and then before you know it, a new season comes and it's the same thing lol! Awful and all staged

I get a kick out of this show. Our family of 5 kids and 2 parents took a photo on a 1970 vacation camping from Santa Barbara to Surrey, B.C. Canada to visit our grandparents and this show reminds me of that though certainly not exactly. Everyone in the family had their distinct personality and contribution to the traveling and camping routine. The veracity, i.e. how real is this TV show and are they really 100% bush people, I'd guess about 50/50. I think they rather are survivalists and do whatever necessary to survive. I like the interaction between the family members and their personalities. I like that they can survive in the bush with varying degrees of modern assistance. Re. the pending lawsuits about public fund benefit fraud, I tag that to their survivalist nature, neither condemning nor agreeing with it. It could be a misunderstanding of qualification requirements. It could be deliberate. No doubt they are paid for the TV show. So the lease for where they built their Brown Town is probably payment for filming rights. To me, this is just survivalist. I think patriarch Billy is very savvy and knew how to market his family's interesting way of living. I don't think that's fake, I think it's survivalist. Summary: I'd much rather watch this show than stupid Real...(i.e. completely fake)Wives or Husbands of Wherever or Whatever. If you remember that TV is entertainment and that TV "reality" is never 100% real you'll have a good perspective. All I have to do is look at the condition of their teeth for me to determine how real it is.

Opinions vary on how "real" this reality tv show is. Whatever it is, this series stands on its own as an intriguing study on human behavior. It begins, true to its title as a depiction of a family living off the grid in Alaska. Father Billy strikes me as a fast-talking con who is not to be trusted, but the fact that there's genuine love among the members of the family, tells me Billy and wife Ami have done something right.

The kids hold respect and admiration for both parents. Mama Ami comes off as a classic wallfliwer, but shes also credited with homeschooling all the kids - with widely varying results.

The most obvious commonality among all family members might be their tendency toward ADHD and lack of planning skills. Kind of ironic for bush people, but it makes for good TV as we repeatedly find them in desperate situations like having no meat and being up against the end of hunting season, or arriving at a remote destination without the tools and materials needed for shelter and survival.

Still the family members pull together and make up for poor planning skills and disorganization by coming together and putting forth great effort.

Each sibling is distinct with their own unique tendencies and characteristics. Some of them vary to a degree that makes it seem they couldn't have come from the same parents.

All in all, this is a series that keeps you engaged as long as you're not too much of a stickler about the program being true to it's claim. I enjoyed it despite the fact that in the end, I'd guess this was never a family of "Alaskan Bush People" but instead a family long on personality with a patriarch determined to sell an image - any image necessary to secure a spot in pop culture.