Dog the Bounty Hunter’s Show About Search for Brian Laundrie ‘Immediately Passed’ on by Major Network

Duane “Dog” Chapman’s former network is reportedly not interested in giving the Dog the Bounty Hunter star a show chronicling his hunt for Brian Laundrie. After YouTube personality Gabby Petito was found dead on Sept. 19, the reality television star joined the nationwide search for her boyfriend, reportedly pitching an idea for a show following his hunt to A&E reps, who “immediately passed,” an insider told TheWrap Tuesday.

Dog the Bounty Hunter aired on A&E for nine seasons before Chapman landed a CMT spinoff, Dog and Beth: On the Hunt and later appearing on one season of Dog’s Most Wanted on WGN. In May, Chapman’s unaired show, Dog Unleashed, was canceled by the Unleashed! network after he was fired for allegedly using racist and homophobic language.

Chapman, who married wife Francie Frane last month, joined the search for Laundrie not long after his nuptials. Laundrie was traveling with Petito cross country when she disappeared and would not answer police questioning before apparently fleeing. So far, Laundrie has been described as a person of interest in Petito’s case but charged only with debit card fraud for allegedly using someone else’s bank card without permission. 

Chapman has so far focused his search on Fort De Soto Park, where Laundrie and his family camped in early September, sharing footage on Instagram over the weekend of his search. The Dog’s Most Wanted star told TMZ Monday he believed Laundrie was still alive and in the United States, having honed his survival skills during months alone on the Appalachian Trail.

“Is he here right now? I’m not sure,” Chapman said. “[Was] he here a few days ago? Absolutely. But he could have got out during [the] night. Then he’d have to have help from, I guess it might be close to a family member, and you know, he’s taken off somewhere else.” Chapman added that he had turned in some of the items his team found to the FBI for DNA testing as he continued to look for evidence as to where Laundrie might be.