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Another National Geographic reality series is reportedly coming to an end. Life Below Zero Season 23, which premiered in October 2024, will be the last for the show, cast members have said. 

‘Life Below Zero’ canceled, Chip Hailstone says 

Life Below Zero cast member Chip Hailstone broke the bad news about the show’s future in a Sept. 21 post on X. 

“Well, folks, it’s official,” he wrote. “Life Below Zero has run its course. No contract, no Life Below Zero. It was a fun 12 years and the show won 9 Emmy Awards, and we were on the first to the last episodes. Now on to a sharp and profitable future.”

Fellow cast member Ricko DeWilde has also said the show will not return to National Geographic. 

“Just want people to know that yes, after this new season airs the Life Below Zero show will be canceled by Disney which owns NatGeo,” he wrote in a November 2024 Instagram post. 

According to DeWilde, production company BBC Studios is shopping the show to other networks. But he is not optimistic about its future “because there’s probably a lot of red tape and hassle that comes with that.”

For deWilde and the local communities featured on Life Below Zero, the cancellation is a major disappointment. 

“As a cast [member] on the show I’m truly going to miss it,” he wrote. “This show really helped a lot financially and provided a lot of work for the community of Huslia when it came to the film crew logistics. The film company did a good job showing the real Alaska and was a blessing to every community they touched.”

While National Geographic has not officially announced that Life Below Zero will end after season 23, Reality Blurred reports that people close to the show confirmed that it has not been renewed. The network did not respond to Showbiz Cheat Sheet’s request for comment about the show’s status. 

Life Below Zero premiered in 2013 and follows the lives of people living in remote Alaska. In addition to DeWilde and Hailstone and his wife Agnes, the current cast includes Sue Aikens, Johnny Rolfe, Chevie and Ryder Roach, Andy Bassich and Denise Becker, and Gage and Avery Hoffman.   

Earlier this year, National Geographic canceled fishing reality series Wicked Tuna after 13 seasons. Nat Geo Wild’s The Incredible Dr. Pol ended in July 2024 after 24 seasons. Life Below Zero spinoffs Life Below Zero: First Alaskans and Life Below Zero: Next Generation are also not returning to TV.

‘Life Below Zero’ Season 23 is currently airing on National Geographic

Man wearing a hat and scarf that are dusted with snow in 'Life Below Zero'
Johnny Rolfe of ‘Life Below Zero’ | BBC Studios/Charlie Beck

Although Life Below Zero might be wrapping up its run, fans won’t have to say goodbye just yet. Season 23 premiered in October, and new episodes are scheduled to air on Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET through January 2025. Season 23 will be available to stream on Hulu and Disney+ on March 19. 

In episode 7, which airs Nov. 19, winter is closing in and “Alaskans must embrace their inner warrior to battle Mother Nature head-on.” 

“The Hailstones brave the ice to secure a resource that may soon disappear once more,” the episode synopsis continues. “The Roaches pass down knowledge of survival to their children. The Hoffman brothers work as a team at the dawn of ice fishing season. And Andy Bassich and Denise Becker prepare their dogs for the long winter.”

Past seasons of Life Below Zero are streaming on Hulu and Disney+. 

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