Exciting Times in the Alaska Gold Rush
DISCOVERY CHANNEL CONTINUES ITS WINNING STREAK WITH TOP SERIES GOLD RUSH AND BERING SEA GOLD
GOLD RUSH has been a top performer for Discovery Channel, netting an average of 4.5 million viewers each week since the season two premiere in October 2011. The show has consistently been #1 on Friday nights. Now the hit series, which follows men in a difficult economy who are risking everything to strike it rich gold mining in Alaska and the Yukon, has gotten the green light for a third season.
The first season featured six men from Sandy, Oregon who lost their jobs due to the economic downturn and decided on an all-stakes gamble – travel to Porcupine Creek, Alaska in the Chilkat Valley and prospect for gold. In season 2, a missed lease payment resulted in new management at Porcupine Creek, the Hoffman crew explored their new mine at Quartz Creek near Dawson City in the Klondike region of the Yukon, and 17-year old Parker Schnabel worked his grandfather’s property at the Big Nugget Mine out of Haines. As the season wound down, each crew rushed to pull in as much gold from the ground as they could before the first freeze forced them to close the mine for the winter.
The January 2012 premiere of Discovery Channel’s new series BERING SEA GOLD was watched by 3.6 million viewers, making it the highest-rated series launch in Discovery Channel history and the second episode achieved an even higher rating. Driven by
BERING SEA GOLD and GOLD RUSH, Discovery Channel was the #1 network in all of television. “I’m proud to be part of Discovery Channel striking gold with their highest series premiere ever,” says Thom Beers, creator and executive producer of BERING SEA GOLD. The show’s success proves that when you mix high-stakes drama and compelling characters, great TV happens and viewers tune in.”
At the end of March, the gold dredgers of BERING SEA GOLD had their chance to reflect back on their last season and the result was tense, honest and explosive. Two one-hour specials saw the crews of the Christine Rose, the Wild Ranger, the Sluicey and the Clark sit down with the executive producer to explain why they risk their lives to dredge for elusive gold and what it’s like to live in Nome. Tensions flew as they sounded off about the danger of doing what they do, the current status of their relationships and what it was like to watch themselves and people who they thought were their friends on television for the first time.
Offshore dredging for gold is not a get-rich-quick opportunity. It is expensive and dangerous. Most people who try, fail. Some have died. You do not want to dredge without extensive knowledge and training. - warning from the Alaska Division of Natural Resources and the City of Nome.Discovery Channel is dedicated to creating the highest quality non-fiction content that informs and entertains its consumers about the world in all its wonder, diversity and amazement. The network, which is distributed to 100.8 million U.S. homes, can be seen in 210 countries and territories, offering a signature mix of compelling, high-end production values and vivid cinematography across genres, including science and technology, exploration, adventure, history and in-depth, behind-the-scenes glimpses of the people, places and organizations that shape and share our world. For more information, visit www.discovery.com.
