Discovery Channel has ordered its first scripted project,
the miniseries Klondike (working
title) about the Yukon Gold Rush era.
Based on Charlotte Gray's novel Gold Diggers: Striking It Rich in the Klondike, the miniseries
tells the story of six strangers and their fight for survival and wealth in a
small, remote frontier town in the late 1890s.
Klondike will
build off the success Discovery has already seen in the genre with reality
shows like Gold Rush and Jungle Gold, which routinely rank as the
top shows among adults 18-49 on cable and broadcast on Friday nights.
"We've been developing scripted for some time, but wanted to
find the perfect fit. When we read Gold
Diggers, we knew we finally found it," said Eileen O'Neill, group president
of Discovery and TLC Networks. "Discovery created and owns the 'gold' narrative
with several of our hit series and we're elated to partner with Scott Free
Television and eOne Television on a subject we know so well as our first
scripted project."
Production on Klondike
is set to begin in March 2013 in Alberta, Canada.
