The 16th season of "Deadliest Catch" (2020 release) opens with a bang: we are in "Vladivostok, Russia, December 2019", and "Wild Bill", captain of the Summer Bay, is in his car driving around. We are not told why he's there. We then go to "2 Months Earlier, Dutch Harbor, Alaska", and the fleet is getting ready for the upcoming king crab fishing season. Per the comments from several participants, the price for king crab is expected to reach never before seen heights, resulting from the Russians cracking down on illegal fishing and hence supply of king crab is expected to be tight. Meanwhile we are catching up with the various boats as departure is only 2 days away... At this point we are 15 min. into the 2 hr. opening episode.
Couple of comments: first of all, if you are a fan of Deadliest Catch (which I certainly am), you are always super-excited to get to a new season. If on the other hand you are not a fan by now (realizing that the show premiered in 2005, yes 15 years), chances are that you're not going to become a fan at this point. It's great to see all of the familiar faces (the Northwestern's Sig Hanson and his daughter Mandy who is now a Relief Captain, the Cornelia Marie's Josh Harris, the Seabrooke's captin Scott Campbell, back after 4 years away due to debilitating back injuries, and so on) and also some brand new faces (such as the Cornelia Marie's Maria, a 25 yr. old greenhorn who is tougher than nails). But what to make of the so-called Russian angle? It is touted left and right, but based on the 2 hr. opening episode, it is much to do about nothing. Other than the opening minute being filmed in Vladivostok (for reasons we don't know at this stage), there is nothing Russian about the new season to date. We still witness the fleet of Dutch Harbor duking it out against each other, nothing more, nothing less.
Season 16 premiered on the Discovery Channel earlier this week, and you can catch up on it on VOD. I am looking forward to seeing new episodes (which are on Tuesdays at 8 pm Eastern). Still unsure but intrigued what the heck the Russian angle is all about. I guess we'll find out in the weeks to come. Bottom line: if you love Deadliest Catch, you'll surely love the new season. But don't take my word for it, and I'd readily suggest you check it out and draw your own conclusion.
*UPDATE 4/25/20* I've now seen Episode 2, and that episode is nothing short of epic, resulting from Typhoon Hagibis barreling down onto the Bering Sea. That tells us that this episode was filmed in the first half of October, 2019 (when Hagibis tore through). Half of the crab-fishing fleet retreats back to Dutch Harbor to take shelter from the storm, and the other half plows on. I never tire of seeing these mega-waves (up to 40 ft high) crash into the boats. On top of that one of the boats suffers from a hydraulic leak in the middle of the storm! As to the supposed Russian angle of Season 16: it's just click-bait. There is nothing Russian-related other than some vague statement by one of the captains "As long as we get to market before the Russians", without there being an ounce of evidence presented of that. And of course no Russian boats. Like I said, just click-bait.