Alaska: The Last Frontier Season 11 - What We Can Tell Fans So Far
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While it might be confusing to keep all the reality shows about life in Alaska straight, it's likely that viewers won't soon forget the four generations of Kilchers who live off the land on their homestead just outside of Homer, Alaska. For the past 10 seasons of "Alaska: The Last Frontier," viewers have watched the colorful and resilient Kilcher clan hunt, garden, raise livestock, and develop other innovative techniques to thrive on their stunning 640-acre plot of land in the middle of the Alaskan wilderness, per Discovery.
In a review in the Anchorage Daily News back in 2013 when the show first premiered on Discovery, writer and Alaska resident Emily Fehrenbacher wrote about the show's pros and cons in comparison to other reality shows set in Alaska (perhaps the biggest pro being that singer-songwriter Jewel is related to the Kilcher family).
"These people live extraordinary lives, and not just because they are Jewel's relatives," Fehrenbacher wrote. "They harvest much of their own food and are all-around entertaining human beings. But the way the show is edited makes it seem as though the Kilchers will surely die if they don't shoot a moose or catch a halibut. We know that they can just go to the Safeway in Homer, but my Midwestern family doesn't know that."
Read on to learn more about Season 11 of "Alaska: The Last Frontier," which premiered on October 9, 2022.
Who appears in the 11th season of the show?
For 80 years, the Kilcher family has been living off the land in a remote part of Alaska. During World War II, Yule Kilcher immigrated from Switzerland to Alaska to escape the perils of war and to forge a more peaceful existence. According to Country Living, Yule asked his friend, Ruth Weber, to join him in Alaska in 1941. Shortly after, Yule and Ruth were married, and the rest is history.
Currently, the show features three generations of the Kilcher family, including Atz, the oldest of Yule and Ruth's children; his wife, Bonnie Dupree; Otto, the sixth child of Yule and Ruth and an expert in turning trash to treasure; and Charlotte, Otto's wife and a wildlife biologist. There's also Atz Lee, Atz's son who left Alaska to pursue music but was eventually returned; Jane, Atz Lee's wife and a commercial fisherwoman; Elvin, Atz's son who is considered a jack of all trades; Eve, Elvin's wife who has an impressive green thumb; and Jewel, the singer-songwriter who left the homestead long ago to follow her dreams, per Country Living.
Jewel's experience on the show and growing up in Alaska
Before singer-songwriter Jewel Kilcher found international success in the music industry, she spent her days living off the land with her parents, siblings, and extended family members on their homestead in Alaska. Though she left to pursue a career in music, Jewel did make her way back to Alaska to appear on a few episodes of "Alaska: The Last Frontier" back in 2016. "I'm proud of where I'm from," Jewel told Entertainment Tonight in 2015. "Alaska's so beautiful and I love how I was raised."
Though she speaks highly of her Alaskan upbringing, much of her youth was spent dealing with the aftermath of her parents' divorce. As Jewel told the San Diego Union-Tribune, her father, Atz Kilcher (also the patriarch of the Kilcher clan on "Alaska: The Last Frontier"), became physically and emotionally abusive toward Jewel and developed a drinking problem, eventually leading her to leave the homestead and move into her own cabin down the road at just 15 years old. Eventually, Atz sought help for his alcohol addiction, and the pair have since mended their fractured relationship.
"Forgiveness is this needle that knows how to mend, and it's the first step to really freeing yourself," Jewel told the San Diego Union-Tribune. "So you have to forgive otherwise you become what you hate. Facing that shame and trying to find love for himself, when nobody had shown it to him, that was very heroic. We have a great relationship now, it's very authentic."
If you or anyone you know is struggling with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
Where to watch previous seasons of Alaska: The Last Frontier
Before tuning in to Season 11, you can catch up on previous seasons of "Alaska: The Last Frontier" on Discovery+. For those who haven't signed up for Discovery+, you get a 7-day free trial and then pay $4.99 per month or $6.99 for the ad-free subscription. If you don't have Discovery+ and don't want to sign up for a subscription but have cable or satellite, you can also link your TV provider to watch past episodes. Past seasons are also available on Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV as well.
While Season 10 primarily focused on how the Kilcher family coped during the COVID-19 pandemic, there's no shortage of drama the family has been involved in both on- and off-camera in previous years. In 2015, Atz Lee Kilcher was at the center of controversy when he, other cast members, and the production company were charged with "unlawful methods of taking or attempting to take big game by helicopter," per Anchorage Daily News.
Cast members had allegedly used a helicopter to hunt a black bear in 2014. Alaska law bans the use of helicopters to pursue or retrieve game. Charges against the Kilcher family were ultimately dismissed, while the production company was fined. The Kilchers said they warned production about the legality of using a helicopter but were still pressured to participate (via The Homer News).