Tanked has been -- wait for it -- tanked after 15 seasons, but supposedly not because of the recent behind-the-scenes drama between two married stars. Animal Planet confirmed the show will not be returning after the Season 15 finale aired in December. Paul Schur, VP communications/media relations, shared a statement:
After 15 fantastic seasons, the series came to a natural end late last year.
"A natural end," he emphasized in a statement to Deadline, rather than killing off the show because of the recent drama between married stars Heather and Wayde King.
The reality TV series followed aquarium makers Acrylic Tank Manufacturing, owned by Brett Raymer and Wayde King. Heather King is married to Wayde and she's also Brett's sister. Heather and Brett's father Irwin Raymer was also part of the show.
According to TMZ, Heather was arrested last week in Las Vegas for allegedly slapping and kicking her husband Wayde in the stomach after a heated argument. Wayde also apparently claimed she had him hanging out the window of her car as she drove away (!) but she denied that. TMZ's sources said she did admit to slapping Wayde, telling the cops it was because he wouldn't let her leave a room. She was booked for misdemeanor domestic violence, but was released from custody.
Just days after that incident, Heather King filed for divorce from Wayde. They had been married for 21 years and have two children together.
TMZ's Tanked sources said the decision to cancel the show was actually made months before the domestic violence incident and divorce proceedings. Why did Animal Planet only announce the end of the show now? Probably because the network was asked about it in the wake of this drama. Otherwise, the show probably would've had a more quiet end.
Tanked premiered back in 2011 and has aired more than 150 episodes across 15 seasons. Some of those seasons were short -- just 6 episodes -- while one went as long as 16 episodes. The final season that ran from November to December 2018 included 10 episodes.
In 2015, Tanked followed Shaquille O'Neal and his Egyptian-themed room for his new grouper tank. Here's a YouTube clip with more than 1.5 million views, showing Shaq as he finally got to see the results:
Tanked's ratings were said to be dropping, and it looks like it was averaging less than half a million viewers an episode, but it must've been doing something right to last for 15 seasons on Animal Planet. That's a lot of aquariums.
But it's not always easy to work so closely with your family members, especially a spouse. Look at Christina and Tarek El Moussa. The Flip or Flop couple ended up divorcing, although they decided to continue working together on their HGTV series. Chip and Joanna Gaines seem to be making it work. They are done with Fixer Upper but recently announced big plans for a return to TV.
Tanked may be gone, but there's still plenty of TV to watch during midseason 2019, so check out our premiere schedule for details.
