The ‘Deadliest Catch’ theme song and why it changed, explained

What is happening with the Deadliest Catch theme song? Fans are passionate about this series, and confused as to why the theme has changed. Not long after its first season debut, episodes of the show were introduced with the 1987 Bon Jovi hit song “Wanted Dead or Alive.”

The track is a power ballad from Bon Jovi’s album “Slippery When Wet.” Released as the album’s third single, it was written by lead singer Jon Bon Jovi and guitarist Richie Sambora, with the former considering it to be the band’s anthem.

It’s featured in the movies Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man, Wild Hogs and Scooby Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed. In TV shows, “Wanted Dead or Alive” was featured in episodes of The Sopranos, Miami Vice, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Supernatural, and The Vampire Diaries.

In 2015, the track got certified quadruple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.

What happened to the Bon Jovi track in Deadliest Catch?

Between Seasons 8 and 11, the Deadliest Catch intro was shorter and used less of the original Bon Jovi track. Later, all parts of the Bon Jovi song “Wanted Dead or Alive” were dropped after Season 11.

Throughout all of the theme song changes, Deadliest Catch fans could buy episodes through streaming services on DVD, and those episodes use a soundalike song but don’t contain any original elements of the Bon Jovi song.

Because of these many changes, and also because the history of “Wanted Dead or Alive” on Deadliest Catch can only be viewed in TV broadcasts and not in the show’s archives, fans are confused about the timeline of the show’s theme songs and debate it in online fan forums.

One such fan may have found the answer.

In May 2023, Reddit user No_Kick8001 began a thread on the Deadliest Catch subreddit that asked fellow fans of the show how to hear the show’s original theme song again.

Reddit user Griselda_fan responded by writing: “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.”

While no official statement has been made about the theme song changes from production sources, it seems that the fan theory about music streaming rights for Deadliest Catch holds the most water.