Alaskan Bush People fans are about to receive an early Christmas present. Discovery has announced that this Wednesday, December 7, a new episode will air. This doesn’t completely satisfy fan curiosity though. Viewers want to know if the show has been renewed. They want to know if ABP is going to get back to its regular, weekly programming. Discovery has yet to announce whether or not this will happen, but for those who are missing the Brown family, Alaskan Bush People: A Browntown Christmas will at least reunite them with the family they have come to care about.

The new episode will be part of an Alaskan Bush People marathon on Wednesday night. According to the Discovery website, the marathon will run from 5:00 p.m. ET to 10:02 p.m. ET. From 5:00 to 9:00, viewers will enjoy the re-broadcast of prior episodes – “Shots in the Dark,” “Judgement Day,” “Released to the Wild,” and “Back in Browntown.” Then from 9:00 to 10:00 will be “A Browntown Christmas.” The website describes it like this.

“In years past, Christmas was a time to reconnect with extended family, but this holiday they’re staying and Browntown and bringing old traditions into their new home, as they build and acquire food and materials that they need for the perfect Christmas.”

The last year or two have been eventful for the Brown’s. Publicity has not been good, the family has had its share of ups and downs like any family, and ratings have suffered.

The beginning of this year, a scandal hit the internet that caused serious questions about the integrity of the show and the Alaskan Bush People family. It was widely reported by a wide range of sources, including the Alaskan Dispatch that the family had been found guilty of providing false information on applications for state oil dividends. Thirty-day sentences were handed down to 63-year-old father Billy Brown and his 31-year-old son Joshua (“Bam”). As a result of their guilty plea, charges against the rest of the Brown family were dropped. The sentences were served on ankle monitors. Although serving time in itself would be a blow to any reality show star, it was the nature of the charges that really knocked so many for a loop and started raising so many questions about the legitimacy of the show. The state of Alaska found the Alaskan Bush People clan guilty of overstating the amount of time they spent living in Alaska. They were unable to prove that they spent most of the year on Alaskan soil and rumors ran rampant that they actually spent a lot of time in Seattle.

Have an extremely awesome Saturday! #AlaskanBushPeople #Alaska #Summer A photo posted by Alaskan Bush People (@alaskanbushppl) on Jul 30, 2016 at 1:46pm PDT

But that wasn’t the end of the difficulties for the Brown’s this year. Radar Online reported that they live much of their life in an Alaskan hotel. Many people in the area reported that they don’t live in the bush, but in a hotel called Icy Strait Lodge. Rumors of Matt Brown regularly drinking and flirting in the hotel bar followed and added to the previous rumors of the eldest Brown having an alcohol problem. News had already broken about his arrest for DUI after hitting a vehicle and then leaving the scene. Finally, the Alaskan Bush People confirmed that the rumors about Matt were true, and an episode aired that included him leaving for rehab.

News also broke earlier this year that was much happier. Joshua Brown had fallen in love. It was complicated, however, by the fact that he had fallen for a producer for the show.

In addition to all this, patriarch Billy Brown has had health problems this year, suffering seizures that have required him to seek medical attention in Seattle.

This is only some of the difficult path the Alaskan Bush People clan has traveled this year. Although ratings have suffered and the authenticity of the show has been questioned, the show has a loyal following who cares about the Brown’s. We don’t know what the Christmas special will tell us about any of these difficult situations that have been part of the Brown’s lives this year. But for fans, it may not really matter. They will just be glad to see the family together again.

[Featured Image by Discovery]