Late last year, the Robertson family of the cable TV smash Duck Dynasty waded into a treacherous swamp.
Outrage exploded after Phil Robertson, the show’s patriarch, called homosexuality a sin and denied seeing black people mistreated in the pre-civil rights Deep South. A&E, the family’s network home, swiftly suspended Phil but the Louisiana family that built its fortune on duck-hunting calls said they wouldn’t continue the show without him. As fans and conservative commentators gathered on Twitter to #StandWithPhil, the future of the most popular reality TV show in cable history seemed in doubt.
Seven months later, the drama seems as distant as a long-ago hunting trip. A&E rescinded Phil’s suspension after nine days. Duck Dynasty is still a hit, albeit one with ratings about one-third of their peak of nearly 12 million viewers last year, according to Nielsen.
A&E continues its lucrative merchandising partnership with the Robertsons, piling up licensed products including beef jerky and hand warmers at Wal-Marts and other stores across the U.S. The tie-ins were estimated by Forbes to be worth $400 million last year alone, although one industry analyst says the business has likely tapered since then (a network spokesman said it would not comment on financials).
The controversy has washed away like mud on waders.
“It’s a strong, strong franchise,” said David McKillop, executive vice-president and general manager of A&E Networks.
As for the dust-up last December, he added: “I don’t think there’s any definitive proof that the controversy itself had an impact on the ratings. These things tend to burn very, very bright and then begin to settle into a plateau.”
The strange saga of Duck Dynasty illustrates how in today’s over-saturated media market, reality TV — much like Internet outrage — is a highly perishable commodity.
“These kinds of reality shows based on unique or unusual people usually don’t have great staying power,” said Jeffrey McCall, a media studies professor at DePauw University. “Once viewers have seen the personalities and their lifestyles, [they] tend to move along … Duck Dynasty has already beaten the odds by getting into Season 6.” The season finale is scheduled to air Aug. 13.
A&E says that Season 7 is in the can and, according to McKillop, the network is mulling possible spinoffs in the future.
The Robertson family — despite whatever tension may have existed with A&E after the suspension — seems onboard.
“We are continuously blown away at the overwhelming response from our fans, and as long as they continue to enjoy the show and its message, we’ll bring them more to watch,” Willie Robertson, Phil’s 42-year-old son and the chief of its Duck Commander business, wrote in a statement given to the Los Angeles Times.
By any yardstick, Duck Dynasty has enjoyed extraordinary success. It is part of a wave of reality shows, such as Here Comes Honey Boo Boo and Breaking Amish, that look at subcultures across the U.S., giving viewers a peek at lifestyles previously unseen in the mainstream media.
The large Robertson clan is led by 68-year-old Phil, a former star quarterback in the 1960s and self-described redneck who famously turned down an NFL contract because it would interfere with his time for hunting. Willie runs the duck-call business that his father started.
A&E has constructed the series as a homespun, goofy reality sitcom that celebrates the Robertsons’ traditional family values even as it gawps at their backwoods way of life. This clan could be thought of as an antidote to the superficiality of the Real Housewives franchise, and their show underscores the idea that humble origins are no barrier to success in America. 10 p.m., A&E
