Deadliest Catch Airs Heartbreaking Finale And Cast Member Death – RIP Todd Meadows

Deadliest Catch has been airing for over 20 years.  The wildly popular crab-fishing documentary first aired on The Discovery Channel back in 2005.

Over the years there have been dozens of cast members and captains, and sadly several of them have passed away since the show began.

But, most of the cast members have passed away from unrelated health issues or drug overdoses.  It’s rare that a young and healthy deckhand goes overboard and drowns while at sea.

Deadliest Catch Season 22 Finale

On Friday September 25, the Season 22 finale of Deadliest Catch aired on Discovery and it was heartbreaking to watch.  The episode covered the moments leading up to a young deckhand’s death, and the crew’s desperate attempts to save him after they fished him out of the Bering Sea.

Deadliest Catch films several months in advance.  In February it was revealed that a cast member of the show went overboard while they were filming Season 22 and drowned.  Todd Meadows was just 25 years old and had three kids at home, waiting for him to return from his fishing trip.

Meadows was a deckhand on the Aleutian Lady, and fan fave Rick Shelford was his Captain.  This was actually Todd Meadows’ first trip on the Aleutian and Season 22 was set to be his Deadliest Catch debut.  Sadly, it was the first and last season he will ever appear on.

Todd Meadow’s Death On Deadliest Catch

The Season 22 finale kicked off with Todd Meadows chatting with his family on a Facetime call.  He reassured his kids that he was being safe and would be home before they knew it.  Later that day after Todd spoke to his kids, he went overboard and drowned.

Meadows’ heartbreaking rescue was captured by cameras.  Discovery Channel was careful to keep his final moments private and didn’t show the deckhand’s body, however audio captured Rick Shelford and his crew desperately trying to save him and administer CPR.  The Captain broke down in tears when they declared Meadows dead.

Do you think that Deadliest Catch handled Todd Meadows’ death with respect?  What did you think of the Season 22 finale?  Share your thoughts down below in the comments and keep checking Soap Opera Spy every week for more television spoilers and news.