The mother of late Deadliest Catch deckhand Todd Meadows is asking Discovery Channel not to broadcast any footage related to her son’s tragic death while filming the series.
Todd Meadows, 25, died on Feb. 25 after falling overboard while crabbing in the waters off Alaska. The incident occurred about 170 miles north of Dutch Harbor near Unalaska, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.
Authorities said Meadows was recovered roughly 10 minutes after he went into the water, but he was unresponsive. Crew members attempted first aid and resuscitation efforts, but he could not be revived.
His death was later confirmed by the Coast Guard and by his captain, Rick Shelford, who shared a tribute to Meadows in a Facebook post on March 2.
Now Meadows’ mother, Angela Meadows, says the family hopes the network will avoid showing any footage connected to the accident.
“We do not want Discovery to air any of that footage or make money off of our son’s death,” Angela told TMZ.
She said the family hopes the program will instead focus on positive moments from Todd’s time working on the vessel.
“We hope they only air good things of Todd on that boat,” she said.
Angela also emphasized how painful it would be for a parent to watch such a moment broadcast publicly.
“No parent would want the world to watch their child die,” she said in a statement reported by Alaska’s News Source.
According to the report, Angela also asked the network to provide the family with any footage of Todd during his time working on the boat so they can keep it as personal memories.
Deadliest Catch, which debuted in 2005, follows crews working in the dangerous world of Alaskan crab fishing. The show has become one of Discovery Channel’s longest-running reality series, with its 21st season concluding in October 2025.
Angela said her hope is that her son will be remembered for the work he loved rather than the tragedy that ended his life.
“It never mattered what anybody had to say about him, good or bad,” she told TMZ. “He wasn’t out there to make friends. He wasn’t out there to click with people. He was just out there to work and to do what he loved.”
