Dog the Bounty Hunter became a household name after nearly eight years on the hit A&E show that held his moniker. He would ricochet between ruthless and benevolent toward the fugitives he would track down with his family of bounty hunters in their pursuit of justice or salvation, as they saw it. Duane “Dog” Chapman was attempting to get back into the game with a new reality show, but it looks like it was cancelled before it could even get going.
The new reality show, Dog Unleashed, featured Dog the Bounty Hunter tracking the whereabouts of major criminals, “from rapists to murderers to child molesters.” But something must have gone left with the production, as the show was cancelled just before it was expected to premiere on a streaming platform called Unleashed Entertainment on April 1. Unleashed Entertainment President and CEO Mike Donovan said in his statement (via Taste of Country):
We greatly respect the incredible work of Duane Chapman (AKA Dog the Bounty Hunter) tracking down and bringing fugitives to justice. Unfortunately, Unleashed Entertainment received reports of actions taken by Mr. Chapman during the show’s production that breach our contractual agreements.
The report from the streaming platform has indicated that Duane Chapman breached his contract, leading to the cancellation of Dog Unleashed, though it isn’t stipulated how Dog the Bounty Hunter breached the contract for his new show to warrant this end result. The statement simply indicates that there was an investigation made by the Unleashed Entertainment production company. In its investigation, the company said it reviewed “hours of audio and video material” and that Dog the Bounty Hunter “chose not to participate” in the investigation. Production was then shut down.
Dog the Bounty Hunter has long been a personality on reality TV, but he took a break from the medium after his wife Beth Chapman died in 2019. At the time, the two had been filming the show Dog's Most Wanted together and Beth continued to film while ill. Over the next year Duane Chapman was open about his grief online, and eventually did find love again, and at one point had plans to remarry less than a year after Beth's death. Now, after his TV hiatus, Dog Unleashed was supposed to be the project getting him back in the reality game.
Dog the Bounty Hunter hasn’t made any public statements regarding the new show's cancellation as of yet, though it’s a curious situation given the episodes never aired. If more details drop, we'll be sure to keep you updated.
