Korie and Willie Robertson are offering a candid assessment of today’s television industry, describing much of its content as “garbage” while explaining why they chose to remain in entertainment during the height of their family’s fame.
Appearing this week on Sage Steele’s podcast, Korie Robertson said the family viewed television as a powerful cultural force and believed their presence could serve a broader purpose.
“I heard a speaker one time, he was talking about how it used to be that like school, education, the church, the government, like all these kind of things had a similar kind of effect on people,” Korie said. “He’s like, ‘Now, all these things are like tiny hills in the shadow of the mountain of entertainment because of how much time we spend consuming entertainment today, podcasts and all of that.’”
She said that perspective influenced their decision to stay in the industry once their show gained national attention.
“That’s why our family, we never got out once we got in. We were like, ‘Wow, this is actually a means to point people to Jesus, and we need to be here. And there’s a lot of Christians that are scared to be in entertainment because there’s this perception of darkness,’” she said.
Willie Robertson added that at the time, broadcast and cable schedules were limited compared with today’s streaming environment, and he viewed programming slots as competitive space.
“If you think about television, as we used to think about it, like there’s only 24 hours and everybody, ESPN’s competing with A&E, and they’re competing with ABC and CBS,” he said. “So who’s in the slots?”
“As we looked at it, it was like, ‘Well, most of it’s garbage or dark or just, you know,’ and so we thought, ‘If not us, who else will this be?’”
Korie described the family’s experience with reality television as a “whirlwind,” noting that some people initially warned that the exposure could negatively affect their marriage and children. She said the family relied on what she called “deep roots” of faith and remained in their Louisiana hometown during the show’s run.
“I’m so thankful that we stayed in our hometown,” she said, adding that public attention sometimes followed them into church services and altered familiar routines. “It was hard on us … but we had to be really intentional about that.”
The Robertsons rose to prominence on Duck Dynasty, which premiered on A&E in 2012 and aired for 11 seasons before concluding in 2017. The series followed the family behind Duck Commander, a duck call business founded by Willie’s father, and frequently closed episodes with a family dinner and prayer.
“I think the fact that we ended the show with a prayer, … that was so unusual,” Willie said. “You didn’t see prayers on the ends of shows.”
Married since 1992, Willie and Korie Robertson raised six children during the show’s run. Korie described the program as a “family sitcom” that, while unscripted, resonated with viewers seeking entertainment centered on family life.
