Is Time Bandit Getting Primed for a 'Deadliest Catch' Return? Sure Looks Like It

The hit Discovery series Deadliest Catch is back for another heart-pounding season as professional fishermen use their skills and wit to make the biggest catches of their lives. Yes, we’re talking about King Crab season.

Having to deal with turbulent waters and dangerous conditions, these captains and their crews risk everything to come out on top.

However, one ship that was missing from the show is the fan-favorite boat, the Time Bandit, and viewers are questioning why it no longer appears on Deadliest Catch. Fans are also interested in what Neal, Jonathan, and Andy Hillstrand are doing these days, and they're wondering if they can expect to see them again on the popular reality TV series.

To recap, the ship’s owners, the Hillstrand brothers — Neal, Johnathan, and Andy — left reality television life behind after Season 13.

"Thank you everyone for all your encouraging posts," Johnathan wrote on Twitter back in October. "God Bless you all! My wife and I have been busy moving to Pierce County. The Time Bandit is all put back together and running Great. Eddie Sr., Eddie Jr., and Axel are bringing it back to Homer. I'll keep you all posted."

But Jonathan Hillstrand did return to the series for the last few episodes of Season 16, and he's back in action as a co-captain. However, Andy hasn't appeared by his side and Neal looks to be out of the game as well ... or are they?

That's because if you take a look at their respective IMDb pages, they're a part of an upcoming Discovery TV movie documentary called Deadliest Catch: Time Bandit Returns.

While it wasn't looking like the ship would return to the long-running series and Jonathan, Andy, and Neal didn't say anything about getting the band back together on the vessel, their IMDb pages indicate that the boat's returning to business very soon.

Neal's Facebook live streams have also been showing him gearing up with food and supplies. So is he going on a road trip? Or maybe he's heading back out on the water? Who knows?

TMZ reported in 2019 that the Time Bandit had hit the market to be sold for nearly $3 million and as of December 2020, it was still listed on Dock Street Brokers. However, a recent search on the online boat marketplace hasn't yielded any results.

While there have been other reasons that the brothers initially decided to put the vessel up for sale, Neal and his wife, Sugayle Marie Hillstrand, filed for divorce in October 2018.

This entitles her to a share of the boat if it were to be sold, which would come in the form of the reality star handing his estranged wife $10,000 post-sale.

The news outlet also reported that Neal will get to keep the couple’s $340,000 house and their 1969 Chevy Malibu. Sugayle received $15,000 from her estranged husband, and will also allegedly receive $1,500 per month for six months. She also kept the former couple’s two SUVs. 

Named as one of the most dangerous jobs in the world, fishermen venture out each year to the Bering Sea to make their living. The fishing show has been a raging success, logging tons of seasons and following the adventures of various fishing crews over the years. The most recent episode (as of this writing) has Sig, Casey, and co. fighting a typhoon for an impressive haul.

In a 2019 interview with Fox News, Sig discussed how being a fisherman spans generations in his family. "The American dream, for us, well it’s just having a family operation. A small business, but it does well at times. We want to see a sustainable industry so I can pass that down to my children," he explained.

"Now I have a grandson and maybe someday he’ll partake. So it’s this passing down the torch so to speak for me has been the dream."

You can watch new episodes of Deadliest Catch on Tuesdays at 9 p.m. EST on Discovery.