Something’s happening with the “Deadliest Catch” theme song and even some of the show’s most devoted fans aren’t entirely sure what it is, sparking multiple debates and general confusion.

For a significant amount of time, starting shortly after its first season or two premiered, episodes of “Deadliest Catch” opened with the 1987 Bon Jovi single “Wanted Dead or Alive.” Then, between Seasons 8 and 11 the intro shortened and incorporated less of the Bon Jovi song. Eventually, after Season 11, “Deadliest Catch” dropped it altogether. All the while, episodes of the show available on DVD and through streaming services are absent Bon Jovi almost entirely and instead used a soundalike. Given these constant changes and especially since the history of “Wanted Dead or Alive” on “Deadliest Catch” is only traceable through TV broadcasts and not through the series’ archives, fans remain confused about the precise timeline of the show’s theme songs over the course of its lengthy run.

For example, user Bigboss831 started a thread on the “Deadliest Catch” subreddit in 2018 questioning just why, exactly, the show’s theme song changed in Season 14. Commenters explained that the Season 14 theme is the “Wanted Dead or Alive” soundalike, which originally preceded the show’s use of the Bon Jovi single. Ultimately, this is just one of many theme song-related questions fans have posed online.

Different people remember different themes for the same seasons of Deadliest Catch

In a 2021 Reddit thread about old episodes online lacking Bon Jovi’s “Wanted Dead or Alive,” user Lord_Rae suggested that “Deadliest Catch” Seasons 1 and 2 open with a soundalike whereas Season 3 introduces the actual song. Original poster Chris8541 described watching through Season 4 and the soundalike continuing, amounting to one among numerous theme song disparities between viewers — hence so much confusion.

Meanwhile, in another thread from that year, user latinrocker2099 pointed out that the only episode on the streaming service then titled Discovery+ with the Bon Jovi song intact was the episode featuring Captain Phil’s tragic death.

As recently as May of 2023, user No_Kick8001 started a thread on the “Deadliest Catch” subreddit asking fellow viewers how to hear the show’s original theme song again — presumably referring to “Wanted Dead or Alive.” “Discovery doesn’t have the streaming rights to the original music and they aren’t cutting a check to get it so it’s all re-dubbed,” replied user Griselda_fan. Complicating matters is the purported inclusion of the song in the episode about Phil’s death, as well as viewers like user captainleviATTONTTN hearing the song in Season 3.

In short, the fact that fans remember “Wanted Dead or Alive” and hear a different song both in more recent episodes and in reruns is causing widespread confusion and prompting plenty of questions online.