Discovery Greenlights First Scripted Project

'Klondike' miniseries will chronicle the Yukon Gold Rush era

By Andrea Morabito -- Broadcasting & Cable, 12/11/2012 12:59:21 PM

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.