Tuesday’s episode of Deadliest Catch, which ended with the death of Cornelia Marie captain Phil Harris, was the series highest-rated episode ever in addition to being extremely well-produced television and extremely emotional.
Its 8.5 million viewers “is remarkably high for the Discovery Channel,” The New York Times reports, noting that “[t]he episode ranks as the third-highest telecast in Discovery’s 25-year history, behind only ‘Raising the Mammoth’ and ‘Walking With Dinosaurs,’ two special events in 2000.”
Meanwhile, the final act of the episode has found its way online. It’s exceptionally powerful reality TV: