Beth Chapman, known for her long-running role on A&E's reality series Dog the Bounty Hunter, passed away earlier this week after a battle with throat cancer. As sad as it was to learn of her death, there is an uplifting piece of news regarding how A&E plans to honor her. A&E will air a special sendoff tribute to Beth Chapman next week. Here's what we know.
A&E will air its four-hour block of Dog the Bounty Hunter episodes on Monday, July 1 as usual, but TMZ reports it will conclude with "in memoriam tributes" to Beth Chapman. So, viewers who regularly tune in to those episodes will see Chapman honored in a special way following the tragic news of her passing, and non-regular Monday viewers may want to check it out to see her sendoff. The show originally aired for eight seasons and 246 episodes on A&E, so it's only fitting that the network honors Chapman.
The network will reportedly also air a marathon of Dog the Bounty Hunter episodes in the upcoming weeks, but no details are available about that just yet.
The four-hour block on Monday begins at 7 a.m. ET on A&E and runs through 11 a.m. ET. The first episodes of the day will be reruns from Season 5, with the rest of the episodes coming from Season 6 and Season 7, according to TV Guide. The episode preceding the tribute to Beth Chapman is scheduled as the Season 7 premiere, called "The Ice Man," which first aired back in 2010.
News first broke that Beth Chapman's prospects were not looking good back on June 23, when it was reported that she had been placed in a medically induced coma, and husband Duane "Dog" Chapman posted a tweet asking for prayers. It was later learned that she was not expected to recover from her hospital stay, and her family was gathering to be with her. Then, on June 26, Beth Chapman died at the age of 51. Her husband shared some truly touching words following her death.
Dog the Bounty Hunter ended on A&E in 2012, but the Chapmans returned in 2017 for a special called Dog and Beth: Fight of Their Lives, which was a two-hour special chronicling Beth Chapman's battle with throat cancer. The special featured candid confessions and reveals from Dog and Beth in their deeply trying time. It was an emotional installment in the Dog the Bounty Hunter franchise, and especially heart-wrenching in light of Beth's passing.
Beth and Dog Chapman were set to return to the small screen with a new show in the not-too-distant future, although not on A&E. They signed on for a show on WGN America, called Dog's Most Wanted. The show would have seen them hunting down criminals from the Most Wanted Fugitives list, and the trailer for the series featured Dog acknowledging Beth's illness.
Be sure to check out A&E on Monday, July 1 to see the tribute to Beth Chapman, and swing by our summer TV premiere guide for some other upcoming viewing options.
