“Deadliest Catch” star Todd Meadows’ death was discovered in the Season 22 finale, months after he tragically fell overboard while filming the reality series.
On Friday’s episode of the Discovery Channel series, producers showed the before and after of the 25-year-old’s fatal fall while working aboard the Aleutian Lady in the Alaskan waters of the Bering Sea on Feb. 25.
While the showrunners avoided showing the actual accident, they gave viewers the perspective of Captain Rick Shelford and the ship’s crew.
Before the episode aired, a warning appeared on the screen saying “the material may disturb some viewers”.
Meadows later appeared on screen in a confessional interview while preparing a meal shortly before his death, telling the cameras: “It was a tough season, one of the tougher seasons for the boat from what I heard.”
When a producer asked the TV personality if he would return to the boat later if he was allowed home, he replied: “Absolutely.”
“It was one of my dreams and goals to come here,” Meadows continued. “That’s why I’m here to make it and try to support my family.”
Meadows told producers about her three children, ages 1, 2 and 4 at the time, and said it was “heartbreaking” because the youngest didn’t understand her absence.
Producers then showed Meadows on a FaceTime call with his family, promising his son he’d go salmon fishing when he got home.
“I hope you’re safe,” Meadows’ daughter says. “If you’re not safe, you better be safe.”
“Oh, I’m being safe,” he replied.
The cameras then cut to Shelford asking the crew, “Is everyone okay?” he asked. after hearing screams.
The crew replied “No” and explained that a man had fallen overboard. Shelford then immediately turned the boat around and ordered the crew to be ready to pull Meadows out of the water.
The cameras remained in the control center as the captain ordered the crew to pull Meadows up and perform CPR.
“Come on, man, come on,” Shelford said on camera before calling the Coast Guard. Shelford burst into tears after a producer told him, “He’s gone, Rick.”
“On February 25, 2026, deckhand Todd Meadows fell overboard. He was rescued unresponsive after six minutes and twenty-six seconds in the water,” the screen read.
Shelford announced Meadows’ passing in a heartbreaking Facebook post, calling it “the most tragic day in the history of the Aleutian Lady of the Bering Sea.”
“Todd was the newest member of our crew, he quickly became family. His love of fishing and strong work ethic immediately earned everyone’s respect,” he wrote.
Trey John Green III, a “Deadliest Catch” cast member, told Page Six exclusively in March that the infamous water was actually “calm” on the day of Meadows’ accident, even though the water was “only a degree or two above freezing.”
Green emphasized that Meadows was “in the right place at the right time” when the accident occurred and was “doing exactly what he was supposed to do.”
“It’s one of those things that none of us really understand. I don’t know what it is,” Green explained.
Meadows’ mother had previously pleaded with Discovery not to profit from her son’s death by showing the footage, and the family was planning to file a wrongful death lawsuit as of April.
Time will tell whether they move forward with such plans.
According to Meadows’ death certificate, the cause of death was determined as “drowning due to possible hypothermia” and “submersion of the body in cold water.”
The GoFundMe, which was first launched in April in the name of Meadows’ mother, has recently gained renewed traction and seen donations pour in following the grisly incident.
As of the time this article was published, it has raised approximately $71,000 of its $75,000 goal.