Chip and Joanna Gaines partner with HBO Max for new series Back to the Frontier

Back to the Frontier premiered on July 10, 2025, on Magnolia Network and HBO Max. The series was made by Chip and Joanna Gaines and showed three modern American families trying to live like people did in the 1880s. They gave up electricity, running water, and modern tools to experience life on the frontier.

Each family: one from Alabama, one from Florida, and one from Texas, faced challenges like raising animals, building homes, and cooking without gas or appliances. The show was filmed in a faraway area near Calgary, Canada, to make it look like a real frontier. New episodes come out every Thursday at 8 pm ET.

The show sometimes added facts and background from experts like Dr. Jacob K. Friefeld and homesteading coach Melissa K. Norris. But most of the time, the show let viewers watch and understand things on their own, without extra explanations. One of the families was a same-sex couple, Jason and Joe, who joined with their twin sons.

Back to the Frontier showcased living in the 1880s lifestyle

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by Magnolia Network (@magnolianetwork)

Back to the Frontier featured three families, the Lopers, the Halls, and the Hanna-Riggs, living under strict 1880s homesteading conditions. They cooked on open flames, used outhouses, and grew or traded for food. There was no competition; instead, the show emphasized survival, teamwork, and adaptation.

Stacey Loper from Alabama shared,

“I’m living history right now,” as she tried to adjust to the conditions.

The Lopers had to learn tasks like canning and chopping wood without modern tools. The Hall family, including two adult daughters, also faced challenges in handling livestock and preserving food. Jereme Hall often clashed with others over independence versus community effort.

Jason Hanna, one of the two dads from Texas, said,

“It’s important for us as a two-dad family … to represent what our family looks like relative to every other family.”

The show depicted their journey equally, showing both their parenting and participation in daily chores.

Throughout the early episodes, viewers saw the families struggle to adjust and begin forming bonds. Without narration or producers pushing drama, the focus remained on how these modern families coped with a simpler way of life.

Challenges in the initial episodes of Back to the Frontier

In the premiere episode of Back to the Frontier, the families arrived at the homestead site and quickly realized how difficult pioneer life could be. They had to cook basic meals outdoors and build sleeping spaces from scratch. Stacey Loper described crying on the first day, noting the difficulty of using a broken outhouse and eating only canned ham for dinner.

The second episode, titled “There’s No Place Like Homestead,” showed the families working together to repair barns and fences. The Halls and Lopers took on shared tasks, though tensions rose between Jereme Hall and others due to differing work styles. The episode highlighted how cooperation gradually developed as families adjusted in Back to the Frontier.

By episode three, titled “A Whole ‘Lot’ of Trouble,” deeper stress points emerged. Jason and Joe struggled with giving up technology, while food rationing became an issue for all three families. Viewers witnessed emotional moments as the group faced weather problems and physical exhaustion. Still, there was no forced drama—only the natural tensions of daily life.

As the episodes progressed, the show’s quiet tone allowed each moment to continue without commentary. One cast member noted that the only real friction … [was] between stubbornly independent Jereme and the more community-minded Lopers.

Stay tuned for more updates.