Jason and Joe Hanna-Riggs, a married gay couple from Dallas, are making waves — and drawing ire — for appearing in the new reality series Back to the Frontier, which premiered on July 10 on HBO Max and Magnolia Network.
The show challenges three modern-day families to give up 21st-century conveniences and live as homesteaders in the 1880s, with no running water or electricity.
Among the families chosen were Jason and Joe, along with their twin 10-year-old sons, Ethan and Lucas, making them the first same-sex family to participate in the series.
While many viewers celebrated the inclusion of a queer family, conservative Christian voices erupted in outrage.
Anti-LGBTQ+ pastor Franklin Graham expressed disappointment online, calling their participation “sin” and warning it promoted a lifestyle contrary to “God’s design.”
Other Christian commentators took it even further, accusing the show of promoting “pederasty” and “sodomite couples,” with one commentator on the site Crossmap alleging the show engaged in “worldly brainwashing.”
Many of these reactions appeared to stem from an assumption that Chip and Joanna Gaines — executive producers of the show and co-founders of the Magnolia Network — shared their conservative values.
Chip Gaines, however, responded on social media by urging critics to ask questions and show compassion, writing, “Talk, ask questions, listen… maybe even learn.”
Jason Hanna spoke to Queerty about what inspired their participation in the show, saying he saw another gay couple in promotional materials and wanted to contribute to visibility and representation.
He shared that their boys were born via surrogacy in 2014, during a time when they faced legal barriers to being recognized as co-parents, and that this appearance is part of a broader journey to normalize same-sex families.
On Instagram, the couple — known as @2_dallas_dads — posted about the challenge and honor of participating, noting, “We traveled back with two other families to give up modern comforts and embark on a journey back to the 1800s frontier.”
They admitted the experience was physically and emotionally taxing, but said it was worth the struggle to continue advocating for same-sex families and fighting for broader acceptance.
The family’s inclusion in the show has drawn praise from LGBTQ+ groups and supporters who see it as a positive step for visibility, especially in traditionally conservative spaces like reality TV about rural family life.
As controversy simmers, the Hanna-Riggs family is staying focused on the bigger picture: showing that queer families are, simply, families — no more, no less — navigating parenthood, survival, and prejudice with love, humor, and grit.