Duane “Dog” Chapman, everyone’s favourite bounty hunter, and his wife Beth are back with their hit series – “Dog and Beth: On The Hunt” – and this season is delving deep into Dog’s past when he returns to Texas to confront the arrest that changed his life.
More than just reality TV, he’s a brand that has stayed fresh and relevant throughout his 35-year career. A New York Times bestselling author twice over, Dog also commentates regularly for CNN and FOX News on current events (most recently the NY prison escapee manhunt & El Chapo) and the services he and Beth provide the bounty hunting industry go way beyond the show.
This season, there’s fugitive fury, a new family member joining the team, and Dog and Beth are turning the bounty hunting industry upside down. Dog and Beth: On The Hunt airs Saturdays at 9pm and 10pm on CMT. Dog told us about the third season of their hit show and why he loves coming to visit his “cousin” north of the border.
CraveOnline: Tell us about the third season of Dog and Beth: One The Hunt.
Duane Chapman: It’s crazy. We’re going across the country training different bail companies on how to track people down and not use lethal weapons, and it’s working out really good.
We understand your 22-year-old daughter Cecily has joined the team… what’s that been like?
She’s been with us since she was a kid but now she’s become an adult – now we see if she’s really been paying attention. We were going down a hill on a hunt recently and I was worried about her and as we were done, she runs by me and says, “Dad, get out of my way.” So I think she’ll do okay.
You mentioned in a recent interview that you guys are using drones now… how does that change the dynamics of your job as well as what viewers see?
There’s other technology that has become legal for the public to use, and one of those things is a drone – we use them to look at the area and watch the back door, and if a criminal were to run would he jump in the river or go in the woods. It’s a way to check the place out. Now we can watch the back door as we hit the front door. A criminal whom we used the drone to watch (and we got him) just said to me, “Dog, this isn’t fair anymore!”
And we understand that this season you returned to Texas, where you were arrested decades ago… what was that like?
It was very real. I wish I could have done more but it’s like living a dream – it was incredible and amazing. When you’re raised somewhere and you go back and sit in that house you were raised in… that’s what it felt like.
What is the most challenging thing about your job?
It really is real. I guess the most challenging thing is once you get a good hunt done and you’re all excited and you look for two or three days and you finally get him and you’re talking about it and everyone is having a family meeting and the phone rings and there’s another one that pops just as fast as the other went down.
Ever been to Canada?
Yes several times. I’m part Native American so a lot of my people live up there. You can keep the winters but I love Canada. People expect another country to be another country but with Canada, it’s more like we’re cousins.
