Discovery greenlights its first scripted mini-series

MUMBAI: US infotainment channel Discovery Channel has announced its order to production of the network?s first-ever, scripted mini-series titled ?Klondike? (wt).

The mini-series, based on Charlotte Gray?s novel ?Gold Diggers: Striking It Rich in the Klondike?, brings to life the tale about six strangers and their collective fight for survival and wealth in a small, frontier town in the remote Klondike.

The show is a co-production between Discovery, Entertainment One Television (eOne) and Nomadic Pictures in association with Scott Free Television. Paul Scheuring is the primary writer and will serve as Executive Producer, along with Ridley Scott and David W. Zucker; as well as John Morayniss and Michael Rosenberg for eOne; Mike Frislev and Chad Oakes will serve as co-producers for Nomadic.

Josh Goldin and Rachel Abramowitz are also writing episodes as Consulting Producers. Eileen O?Neill and Dolores Gavin will serve as executive producers for Discovery.

Discovery, TLC Networks group president Eileen O?Neill said, "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. 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."

Filmmaker Ridley Scott said, "Klondike was the last great Gold Rush; one which triggered a flood of prospectors ill-equipped, emotionally or otherwise, for the extreme and grueling conditions of the remote Yukon wilderness. The personal adventures are as epic as the landscape, where ambition, greed, sex and murder, as well as their extraordinary efforts to literally strike it rich, are all chronicled by a young Jack London himself."

One Television CEO John Morayniss said, "eOne is delighted to be working with Discovery as they make their foray into scripted television as well as join forces for the first time ever with Scott Free and continue our relationship with Nomadic Pictures. We?re looking forward to sharing this innovative adaptation of a well-known era, and sharing this epic mini-series with audiences around the world."

?Klondike? follows the lives of two childhood best friends, Bill and Epstein, in the late 1890s as they undertake the next, Gold Rush capital in the untamed Yukon Territory. This man-versus-nature tale places our heroes in a land full of undiscovered wealth, but ravaged by harsh conditions, unpredictable weather and desperate, dangerous characters including greedy businessmen, seductive courtesans and native tribes witnessing the destruction of their people and land by opportunistic entrepreneurs.

Production begins in March 2013 on location in Alberta, Canada. The series will be produced with assistance of the Government of Alberta, Alberta Film Development Program. International distribution will be handled by eOne Television.