The A&E series Duck Dynasty is an All-American success story, from its patriotic patriarch to its sky-high ratings.
It’s still mighty confusing to Entertainment Weekly.
The show begins its fourth season at 10 p.m. Aug. 14, with the show’s leads fresh from signing a lucrative new deal with the cable channel.
I’ve learned that under the new agreement, the clan will earn more than $200,000 an episode, divvied up among the nine adults and 11 kids on the show. That is roughly 4-5 times what the Robertsons previously made. Additionally, I hear the new pact includes additional seasons for the show as well as series/cast options.
Show regular Willie Robertson is being considered for a possible political run, and two books tied to the show–Happy, Happy, Happy and The Duck Commander Family--are selling briskly.
That leaves EW writer Tanner Stransky, along with the magazine’s editorial crew, rather perplexed in the Aug. 16/23 print edition of the entertainment magazine.
“A stunning 8.6 million people watched the last premiere of this Southern confection, causing everyone here at EW to ask, “What the duck?” Stransky writes before reviewing the first new episode of the fourth season, what he dubbed “so scary.” The amount of facial hair on Dynasty alone is terrifying. If you’re the type of person who loves when a duck-call patriarch licks a hook under the guise of fishing technique, this is your show.”
It wouldn’t be the first time a TV critic slammed the show for not staying true to what the elites think a TV show should display.