Duck Dynasty

Duck Dynasty is an American reality television series on A&E that portrays the lives of the Robertson family, who became wealthy from their family-operated business, Duck Commander. The West Monroe, Louisiana business makes products for duck hunters, primarily a duck call called Duck Commander. The Robertson menâ€"brothers Phil and Si, and Phil's sons Jase, Willie, and Jepâ€"are known for their long beards and their Christian views. The family was previously featured on the series Benelli Presents Duck Commander and its spin-off Buck Commander, which still airs on the Outdoor Channel.

The show has broken several ratings records on both A&E and cable television as a whole. The fourth season premiere drew 11.8 million viewers; the most-watched nonfiction cable series in history.

In mid-December 2013, controversy from an interview Phil Robertson gave to GQ magazine resulted in an indefinite suspension by A&E, due to remarks he made which were being widely reported in the media as "anti-gay". Following public pressure on A&E to lift the suspension, he was reinstated nine days later.

The show had $80 million in advertising sales for the first nine months of 2013, and merchandise has generated another $400 million in revenue.

§Cast

Phil Robertson â€" The family patriarch and creator of the Duck Commander duck call. He was a standout quarterback at Louisiana Tech University and was contacted by the Washington Redskins after his junior year. He chose instead to quit football because it interfered with duck hunting season. Phil graduated from Louisiana Tech with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Physical Education and later received a Masters of Arts degree in Education via night classes while working as a schoolteacher. Phil went through a "dark period" while running a bar that led to his separation from his wife. It was at this low point he found Christ and reconciled with his wife. It was then that he invented his duck call, and founded the Duck Commander Company in 1973. Phil is known for his dislike of modern technology, calling himself "a low-tech man in a high-tech world," and his concern that his grandchildren are becoming "yuppies". At the end of each episode, the family is shown at the dining table, usually with Phil praying over the meal.

Kay Robertson (née Carroway) â€" Phil's wife, usually addressed as "Miss Kay" by her husband and sons. Kay married Phil in 1966 at age 16. She is the mother of Alan, Jase, Willie, and Jep. She loves cooking and often has her entire family over for a home-cooked meal after a hard day's work.

Si Robertson â€" Phil's brother; a Vietnam War veteran, and uncle to Phil and Miss Kay's four sons. Si works at Duck Commander; making the reeds that go into every duck call. Si is known for his storytelling, and his constant use of the expressions "Hey!" and "Jack", (which ends many of his sentences). And for his ever-present green Tupperware cup, (which his mother sent him while he was stationed in Vietnam); ever-filled with iced tea. Si has been married to Christine Robertson (née Raney) for 48 yearsâ€"she however, has declined to appear on the show.

Willie Robertson â€" Phil and Miss Kay's third son, and CEO of Duck Commander. Willie has a bachelor's degree in health and human performance with an emphasis on business from the University of Louisiana at Monroe, and took Duck Commander from a family business to a multimillion-dollar empire. He is married to Korie Robertson, and they have five children, two of which are adopted. Willie also does the narration on the show.

Korie Robertson (née Howard) â€" Willie's wife and business partner, who graduated from Harding University and is the office manager of Duck Commander. Korie and Willie have known each other since they were in 3rd and 4th grade, respectively. They married on January 11, 1992 when they were 18 (Korie) and 19 (Willie). They have five children: adopted daughter Rebecca, John Luke, Sadie, adopted son Will (Li'l Will), and Bella.

John Luke Robertson â€" The eldest son of Willie and Korie, who attends Ouachita Christian School.

Rebecca Robertson â€" The foster daughter of Willie and Korie, who is and the eldest of the five children. The family originally were Rebecca's host when she was an exchange student from Taiwan and have since adopted her as their own. She comes home to West Monroe after completing a two-year fashion internship in Los Angeles.

Sadie Robertson â€" The daughter of Willie and Korie, who attends Ouachita Christian School.

Jase Robertson â€" Phil and Miss Kay's second son. Jase is in charge of the manufacturing aspects at Duck Commander. Along with other employees, Jase tunes the duck calls by hand. Many of the episodes feature the laid-back, self-professed redneck Jase doing something to aggravate his gung-ho, business-savvy brother Willie, such as turning a warehouse cleaning into a ping-pong battle.

Missy Robertson (née West) â€" Jase's wife. They have three children: Reed, Cole, and Mia. She has been featured singing on the show.

Reed Robertson â€" The eldest child and first son of Jase and Missy, who attends Ouachita Christian School, playing football and baseball. His graduation is shown in Season 6.

Cole Robertson â€" The second son of Jase and Missy, who attends Ouachita Christian School, and plays baseball.

Mia Robertson â€" The youngest child and only daughter of Jase and Missy, born with a cleft lip and palate. She has had five surgeries to correct it, as of the end of Season 5.

Jules Jeptha (Jep) Robertson â€" Phil and Miss Kay's youngest son, who films and edits DVDs of the Robertson family; hunting. He is often seen at Duck Commander and at family dinners. He is married to Jessica and they have four children.

Jessica Robertson (née Strickland) â€" Jep's wife. They have four children: Lily, Merritt, Priscilla, and River.

Marshal ("Alan") Robertson â€" Phil and Kay's eldest son, who left the family business to become a preacher, but rejoined the family both doing public relations at Duck Commander and appearing on the show since season four. He wanted to join the show to spread the Word of God to more people. Alan is married to Lisa Robertson, (née Gibson), and is the only adult male in the family without a beard.

§Family tree

Shaded entries indicate family members who have appeared on the show.

§Other recurring cast

• Justin Martin â€" An employee at Duck Commander since 2002, mainly building duck calls, managing supplies, and overseeing the shipping department as well as being the decoy technician.
• John Godwin â€" An employee of Duck Commander, who is often given grief over his large figure
• Mountain Man (Tim Guraedy) â€" A neighbor who operates his own air-conditioning repair business, and co-hosts a local radio talk show on KXKZ (6 episodes; seasons 1â€"4)
• Jimmy Red (Jimmy Gibson) â€" An old friend of Phil, Miss Kay, and Si; referred to as "Red" by Phil (3 episodes; seasons 1 & 2)

§List of episodes

§Ratings

An hour-long Christmas special premiered on December 5, 2012 as the season two finale and became (at the time) the most-watched A&E episode in the network's history.

The February 27, 2013, the season three premiere tallied 8.6 million viewers, including five million in the adults 25â€"54 demographic and five million in adults 18â€"49 demographic, making the premiere (at the time) the most watched series in network history, beating the season two finale. The one-hour season three finale (shown on April 24, 2013) tallied 9.6 million viewers, with 5.6 million in the Adults 25â€"54 demographic and 5.5 million in the Adults 18â€"49 demographic, making it the highest rated telecast in A&E history.

On August 14, 2013, the season four premiere drew a total of 11.8 million viewers, an increase of 37% vs. the season three premiere, drawing 6.3 million viewers in the Adults 25â€"54 demographic, making it the most watched nonfiction series telecast in cable television history. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the fourth season averaged 9.4 million viewers.

Duck Dynasty tops the list of celebrity/pop culture-themed costume searches on Yahoo! in October 2013, according to data compiled by Yahoo Web trend expert Carolyn Clark.

As of October 17, 2014, the show has averaged 8.3 million viewers for 2014. According to an October 2014 release from E! Online, the majority of the series's Facebook audience is Republican.

§Seasonal ratings

§Controversies

§Editing controversy

In 2012, Phil Robertson stated on Sports Spectrum, a Christian sports publication, that he confronted producers about editors of the show telling them not to say Jesus' name while praying at the end of episodes, and that they added intermittent bleep censors over random portions of the cast's unscripted dialogue although there was no profanity being spoken. Robertson cited the issues as part of spiritual warfare, that there was no swearing that needed to be edited out, and the prayers were being censored to avoid offending non-Christian religious people. A&E did not comment on the claims.

§GQ Interview

On December 18, 2013, A&E announced that it was suspending Phil Robertson from the show indefinitely over remarks he made during an interview with Drew Magary of GQ magazine which had attracted outside criticism. During the interview for a featured article in GQ's January 2014 issue, titled "What the Duck?", Magary asked Robertson: "What, in your mind, is sinful?" Robertson replied: "Start with homosexual behavior and just morph out from there. Bestiality, sleeping around with this woman and that woman and that woman and those men."

A&E stated they were "extremely disappointed to have read Phil Robertson's comments in GQ, which are based on his own personal beliefs and are not reflected in the series Duck Dynasty". Robertson said that he is a "product of the '60s" but has since lived his life on Biblical principles. He added: "I would never treat anyone with disrespect just because they are different from me."

The Robertson family released a statement about A&E's decision, supporting Phil and saying that while some of his comments were "coarse," his beliefs are "grounded in the teachings of the Bible." In the first public interview since the GQ interview, Robertson stood by his words and said:

"Jesus will take sins away. If you're a homosexual, he'll take it away. If you're an adulterer, if you're a liar, what's the difference?"

Robertson's remarks were reported in the media, with reactions split. Many social conservatives, including his corporate sponsors, some religious groups, and some Republican politicians including Sarah Palin, Bobby Jindal and Mike Huckabee supported his right to such opinions. Robertson faced significant opposition from individuals viewing his words as anti-gay and bigoted. In response, Cracker Barrel removed some Duck Dynasty products. The products were replaced after a day due to public response. United Press International alleged that A&E CEO Nancy Dubuc had received death threats for the decision to suspend Robertson indefinitely.

On December 27, A&E reversed Robertson's suspension. The network cited Robertson's and the family's regret for the use of "coarse language" in regards to discussing body parts, and stated that A&E would launch a public service announcement across the channel's "entire portfolio" that would promote "tolerance and acceptance among all people." A Human Rights Campaign representative saw the reinstatement as a positive step and said they had been assured that "the Robertson family is now open [...] to address the real harm that such anti-gay and racist comments can cause."

CNN said the controversy showed that a culture war was at play, in part because of what GLAAD characterized as "offensive depictions of minorities" in public discourse. Republican Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal and other conservatives noted the issue as a First Amendment right to free speech, while others said that the First Amendment did not apply.

§Other television and media

The Robertsons appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live!. Scheduled musical guest Morrissey canceled because he objected to being on the show with those he called "animal serial killers." The band Churchill filled in for Morrissey. Phil Robertson responded, saying, "Whoever he is, I don't hold it against him." They made a parody video where they sold a carrot call, instead of a duck call, to call wild carrots to jump straight into their mouths. The Robertsons have also appeared on Conan, Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, Live! with Kelly and Michael, Today, Katie, The Wendy Williams Show and 700 Club. Willie Robertson appeared on FNC's The Five on August 13, 2013. The Robertsons guest-starred on the season three première of Last Man Standing. Members of Duck Dynasty are featured in the music video of the No. 1 country song "Wagon Wheel" by Darius Rucker.

Si Robertson lent his voice and personal appearance to the VeggieTales video, Merry Larry and the True Light of Christmas, in which he narrates the video and appears as an okra mall janitor.

Sadie Robertson has performed on various episodes of Dancing With the Stars. Other members of her family appeared on one episode as well.

§Christmas album

On June 10, 2013, it was announced that the family was working on a Christmas album. Titled Duck the Halls: A Robertson Family Christmas, it was released on the UMG Nashville label on October 29, 2013.

§Charts

§Singles

§References

§Further reading

• `Duck Dynasty`'s Success Is Entirely Based on Selling a Fantasy - The enduring, commercial fallacy of the "authentic" man, The New Republic

§External links

• Official website
• Duck Dynasty at the Internet Movie Database