Jep & Jessica Robertson Explain How ‘Beyond the Bayou’ Is Different From ‘Duck Dynasty’

Jep and Jessica Robertson have made a big life decision at the start of their new unscripted series Beyond the Bayou. The show premiering August 13 on Great American Pure Flix (August 15 on Great American Family and GFAM+) sees the couple enter a new chapter alongside their big family. It all starts during the premiere when Jep’s longtime friend Lance brings a business proposition, partnering on a one-of-a-kind community in North Texas. He acquired the thousands of acres to develop a Comanche Moon, a collection of privately owned ranchettes complemented by shared gathering spaces that bring neighbors together.

At the heart of the property is the Mirador, also known as “The Texas Shire.” This is envisioned as a vacation destination featuring unique short-term rentals. Its signature “Burrow” homes are built into the earth with moss-covered green roofs, whimsical architecture, and storybook-inspired details that create an unforgettable escape. For Jep, ever the outdoorsmen, it’s an attractive offer. However, there was a lot to consider with three children at home including River, Gus, and Priscilla with their grandchild August. Not to mention the older kids Merritt and Lily, who just became a mom of two in June. 

The series will document how Jep and Jessica manage it all. Here, the couple get candid about cameras following them on their Lone Star State adventure. 

How did the new show come about? 

Jessica Robertson: We had worked a little bit with Great American Media on some other small projects, and we just loved everything the team were doing at Great American Media. We actually met here in Dallas for lunch one day. We were actually just going to meet and say, “Hey, how can we participate in what y’all are doing? Even on the back end of things, the production side, connecting people.” Throughout our lunch, we were just talking about life and what we’re doing, and we were telling them about the ranch and our kids and grandbabies and all these things. They were like, “Yeah, I mean, we’ve never done reality, or, you know, an unscripted show, but yeah, let’s do it.” And we were like, “Oh, OK!” Then we thought about what was this, what would this look like? It was not planned. That wasn’t our mission.

Then we met with our friend Lance actually the next morning. It’s totally a God thing. We literally met the next morning for coffee before heading back to Louisiana, and we were telling him about why we were here in the meeting. He had already been telling us about the Comanche Moon Ranch and all these projects that he had going on. Then it kind of came about that way where we should capture this. We thought it was really intriguing and that people will love this.

Was it hard to get the family to buy in also, or were they on board?

Jessica: I think our kids are always up for an adventure. I think the hardest part was we have married children back in Louisiana and grandbabies. And so those have their husbands who have regular jobs. They can’t up and go and film a show. So they got to pop on throughout the season some. But it was very scheduled. One of our sons is a firefighter, so he’s one day on, two days off. It’s a little complicated, but everybody was super excited. The boys love it out there, the fishing is amazing, and you’ll see that on the show. It was a fun adventure.

We’ve seen you on Duck Dynasty and the spinoffs. How would you compare this to others that viewers have seen before?

Jep Robertson: Oh, this one’s way better. You have to say that, don’t you? No, I do think it’s better in a certain way. To me, it’s so special because, my dad [Phil] just passed away about a year ago. A lot of reflection going into this was about him. His big thing, besides just Jesus in general and following him, was just being outside, how it’s good for kids, and it’s kind of what’s wrong with the world today. There’s a lot of truth in that. It’s just getting out. That revolved around usually hunting and fishing, and he would always say — and I still say this to kids a lot of times — to me and other kids, “Look, when you’re getting up early to go hunting and fishing, the night before, you’re not partying at night because you’ve got to get up early to go do what you’re going to do outside. You have to pack up all your gear and all that stuff to go outdoors.” I think we do a lot of that, and I think what’s funny is it’s been so impactful on our kids. We’ve enjoyed doing it, honestly, for us as a family. 

Jessica: Yes. It’s a little different. It’s not necessarily a renovation show or a build show that you see on other networks. It’s still family, it’s community, it’s faith-driven, it’s slower paced, which I think the world needs, and I think they’re craving that. You see people on their phone scrolling. Yet you’re seeing these women that still love to sew and garden. We were craving that, going outside and slowing things down a bit. It’s not so slapstick funny. There’s a lot of humor that comes through this, but there’s a lot of just real moments and heartfelt moments.

During the first episode, you get this opportunity in Texas and you’re also catching up to where your children are at in their lives. What can you say we’re going to see throughout the season?

Jessica: I think that the first episode is very unique, almost a standalone. It’s teeing up the season of what we’re gonna be doing over in Texas. And we do pop in Louisiana a couple more times. Obviously, our oldest daughter has our fourth grandbaby, her second child. We were literally filming, and Gus was on top of a horse. They were on horseback. And she was like, “I’m gonna have the baby today.” So, we finished filming that day, wrapped, and drove straight home, and got to meet our new granddaughter the next morning. Those were real moments, too. That really happened on the show. We get to pop back in every so often. It’s a surprise because the adventure is so much bigger than what we even thought it was going to be going out there. 

We went out there with kind of a certain thing in our mind, almost small. I think we couldn’t grasp how big God was going to make this. Even just the beauty and the scenery and the community and the togetherness that I felt like we felt out there that entire time while we were filming and meeting new people and meeting workers that were working on these projects and houses. That was such an honor for us to get to do and serve them.

What got you through those times when you were in Texas with another family in Louisiana? 

Jessica: A lot of FaceTimes. We just talked and communicated a lot. We were fortunate because we got to bring Priscilla and August and River and Gus. They still live at home. So, they all came with us out there, and they homeschool. Priscilla does online college. River does online high school in his junior year. For Gus, even though he was at a private school, they allowed us to bring all of his work and kind of basically do half homeschool, half a private school version of that. We were really fortunate we got to do that. Gus is still young. He’s going into fourth grade this year.

We weren’t willing to go and leave our children behind. We do have grown children that are married, and they have their own little core unit. We did miss them terribly, but we still got to see them every so often. We popped back in, or they popped out a couple times at the ranch. You juggle. You just make it work, and you know it’s just a season. It’s just a moment in time, and then what we’re doing will benefit everyone. It’ll benefit them, it’ll benefit other people that get to come and experience this, and outlive us long when we’re gone.

What does it mean for you to have Gus part of the family after 10 years? 

Jep: Well, it’s funny because Gus really didn’t grow up [on reality TV]. He did, but didn’t really remember it. When we filmed Growing the Dynasty, it was kind of his story about us adopting him. When he was old enough to start watching, he wanted to watch that. He thought, “This whole thing’s about me.” He just thought it was so cool. 

Jessica: But even in that Dynasty, he kind of got to look back. I remember him catching it, and he started freaking out seeing Phil, seeing his dad. I was like, “Oh, yeah, you were not even two years old when we wrapped filming for all of that.” So, he doesn’t remember any of it, and then we kind of continued with life, right? You see kids going through middle school and high school and graduation, so it’s been really amazing. I feel like every milestone, every six months or so, I see some sort of growth in maturity or something he’s really into. Obviously, it was the Eggalicious business for the first episode. Being 10 years old, he’s long past moving on and wanting to do other things. Now he wants to do rodeos. So, he is all or nothing. 

Jep: He’s just a super fan, and he’s really great on camera. You know, I was a little worried he’d get nervous. He was a little nervous at the beginning, but he was terrific. 

You’ve been married for what will be 25 years. What’s your secret to a successful relationship? 

Jep: I think it’s a testament to the people you’re around, whether it’s family or church group. That’s important to us because there were times when we were younger that having a good support system was so important. It was tough, and we needed them. We just needed other brothers and sisters to lean on. 

Jessica: If somebody asked me what advice you would give to somebody, I would say you need to seek Godly counsel.

Jep: My mom used to say that a true friend cares about your soul, not about your happiness. I think it’s very true. 

Jessica: Yeah, it’s definitely about seeking good counsel, and we were surrounded by that with family, so much family. We were really blessed. It wasn’t easy. Everybody says the first year’s hard, and I’d say the first seven years were hard. That’s what it was for us. I knew [Jep] loved the Lord more than he loved me, and he knew I did the same. When you’re focused on him, then the other things can heal, like the hurts and things that you go through. God can heal those because you’re not focused on each other. And once we got on that right seven years in, that we’re on the same team, we’re rooting each other on, it hasn’t been perfect since then, but we know we’re in this. I want to help you to be the best version of you. I don’t want to tear you down. I want to lift you up. I want you to know that you’re a child of God. God is the glue. We all need grace. We all need forgiveness.

Where are we on this Texas project? I see the progress on your social media. 

Jessica: We have been secretive and not wanting to share too much. It’s launching soon. I think September 1 is when they’re taking bookings. Comanche Moon is just beautiful and unique with just spectacular views and opportunity. It’s these unique stays that really are just magical. When you’re there, it feels like you’re somewhere else. You’re not here. I really felt like I was in Narnia for a moment, you know. 

Or even Lord of the Rings.

Jep: Yeah. I would have loved to go to a place like this when I was a kid. We just were kind of down on the river, didn’t really travel much besides selling our duck calls and all that. 

Jessica: This is just the beginning though there. We have lots of plans. 

Oh, really? So, we might see Season 2 then.

Jessica: We’ll see! Who knows?

Will we see other members of the Duck Dynasty family on the show? 

Jessica: Not in the first season, but there are some guests that come on that I think people will love to see. And then we already have people that have said, “Hey, if y’all do a Season 2, let us know.” We’re hoping for a Season 2. We love working with Great American Media, and we’re so excited to be the first unscripted show on Great American Pure Flix. 

Jep: We’re proud of this. It’s been fun.

What did you guys walk away with from this experience so far?

Jessica: I think just the experience we had out there and to see the growth and to see the community that is being built. You have this large ranch, but you have people being intentional about getting to know one another. That’s so rewarding, meeting new people, having more friends out here in Texas. It is going to be something not just for us. People can come and enjoy this with their families. They can come out for family reunions or retreats, or like father-son getaways with the church groups. To go fishing and just have this peacefulness outside. I think that’s so exciting to me, to see what God’s going to do with this. Not what we’re going to do with it.

So, you’re splitting your time still between Texas and Louisiana?

Jessica: We go back and forth. School is about to start, so we’ll be back and forth to the ranch. If we have to go film another season, then we’ll kind of pick up and do what we did the last time.

Jep & Jess: Beyond the Bayou, Series Premiere, Thursday, August 13, Great American Pure Flix; Saturday, August 15, 9/8c, Great American Family and GFAM+