‘Dog’s Most Wanted’ Fate Uncertain Following Beth Chapman’s Death

The fate of Dog’s Most Wanted, the new WGN America show featuring Duane “Dog The Bounty Hunter” Chapman and his wife, Beth Chapman, hunting down wanted fugitives, is uncertain following the death of one of its stars.

As previously reported by The Inquisitr, Beth Chapman, 51, passed away on Wednesday after having spent four days in a medically-induced coma. The reality star had been diagnosed with stage 2 throat cancer in 2017, although whether or not her death was directly attributable to her cancer diagnosis remains unclear, as of this writing.

Though battling cancer, Beth and her husband teamed up to produce a TV series, Dog’s Most Wanted, which had been scheduled to air on Chicago “superstation” WGN America later this year, although no specific air date has been revealed, as of this writing.

Now, however, as Deadline reports, the status of the show remains unclear. As of this writing, WGN America’s website does not mention Beth’s death or the status of the show. An article about Beth’s death appearing on WGN-TV‘s website, however, seems to suggest that the show is still on.

“A new series on WGN America, Dog’s Most Wanted, is set to air in 2020,” the network said.

However, it bears noting that WGN America and WGN-TV are two different but related entities, both owned by the same media conglomerate. WGN-TV is a local Chicago station, while WGN America is a national network.

In a tweet, the network offered its sympathies to the Chapman family, but did not mention the status of the show.

We are deeply saddened by the tragic news that @MrsdogC lost her battle with cancer today. She was an exceptional woman, all of us at #WGNAmerica will miss her tremendously. Our thoughts and prayers are with @DogBountyHunter, her family, loved ones and millions of fans. pic.twitter.com/18YQBrHWec

— NewsNationComms (@NewsNationComms) June 26, 2019

Chapman’s death puts the network in an awkward position. On the one hand, airing the show now that Beth has passed could be seen as insensitive, and cashing in on a family’s tragedy. On the other hand, the network invested considerable effort and money into the program, as did Beth and Duane and their team, and fans may very well be clamoring to see the couple’s last hurrahs.

Beth Chapman is not the only star of a reality TV series to have passed away before the show ended (or in Beth’s case, before it even aired). In what may be the most high-profile such case, and possibly even the first such case, Real World: San Francisco star Pedro Zamora died just days after the final episode of his season ending. Then-President Bill Clinton personally thanked the Cuban-American for being one of the first openly gay men depicted on TV, and for bringing a human face to the AIDS crisis.