'Deadliest Catch' Announces Season 17 Premiere, Watch the Captains Band Together Amid the Pandemic in a First Look

Deadliest Catch is back for a season unlike any other as the fleet captains try to weather not just the storms of the Bering Sea, but the storms of the coronavirus pandemic. The hit Discovery show returns for its 17th season on Tuesday, April 20 at 8 p.m. ET on Discovery but the first episode is available to stream on discovery+ on Friday, March 19.

With a global pandemic disrupting every aspect of life, the Deadliest Catch captains are trying to prevent the entire fishery from closing after half the crab boats of the Bering Sea get tied up in Seattle, Washington on their way to Dutch Harbor, Alaska. Meanwhile, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game wasn't able to conduct a summer crab survey due to the government lockdown, meaning the captains are going into this season blind, with no maps or intel to help make the already-challenging season less difficult.

Captain Sig Hansen of the Northwestern is spearheading a new strategy to keep the industry alive, but he'll need friend and legendary crabber Johnathan Hillstrand to make it work. Bringing in the Time Bandit to help catch the 5 million-lb. fall season quota would be a lifeline in these trying times, but is Hillstrand willing to leave behind his loved ones to come out of retirement? The fleet will also have to come together as a pack to survive the season, putting aside years of competition and bad blood to work together as a pack to save the fishery. But will they actually be able to do it?

Also returning this year is Captain Keith Colburn of the Wizard, whose WW2-era boat is in dire need of costly maintenance a successful season could finance. Longtime rival Captain Scott Campbell Jr. of the Lady Alaska plans to offer him secret intel on where to find crab, but things aren't exactly going to plan when they come together to meet. Meanwhile, on the Saga, Captain Jake Anderson is striving to secure more quota, but Sig's daughter, Mandy Hansen, has the idea to enlist her father's protege in her own plan to tank their combined share of the total crab quota.

Captains Josh Harris and Casey McManus of the Cornelia Marie are also taking on the one-of-a-kind challenge, despite a struggle to find a strong crew amid the pandemic. Calling in business partner Jeff Silva from Hawaii to help them, Silva quickly realizes that life as a greenhorn isn't the same as catching sport fish in tropical waters. Rounding out the fleet is Captain Wild Bill of the Summer Bay, whose crew has faced incredible losses over the past year, including deckhand Mahlon Reyes, who suffered a deadly heart attack at the young age of 38 years old. Deck boss Nick McGlashan, who passed away in December, also has the crew worried early on after he comes down with a fever amid the height of COVID.

Don't miss the premiere of Deadliest Catch Season 17, premiering the first episode on discovery+ Friday, March 19 ahead of the official season premiere date on Tuesday, April 20 at 8 p.m. ET on Discovery.