‘Aussie Gold Hunters’.
Discovery Australia and UK have commissioned another 40 episodes, across two seasons, of Electric Pictures’ Aussie Gold Hunters.
The fifth season is currently underway, with shooting take place across in Western Australia and Victoria. The series follows teams of gold prospectors as they risk it all to find their fortune on some of the richest gold bearing grounds in the world.
In Australia, Aussie Gold Hunters is broadcast on Foxtel’s Discovery Channel, while in the UK it airs on Quest, Discovery’s free-to-air channel.
The new seasons were ordered by Discovery Inc’s VP original content, factual Victoria Noble. Oliver Wilson and Rob Holloway are the EP for Quest, Darren Chau is director of content & channels, factual and EP for Discovery Australia. Robin Shingleton is the series producer for Electric Pictures.
In addition to Discovery, the show is financed with the backing of distributor DCD Rights, the Producer Offset, Screenwest’s Documentary Production Fund, and regional production funds in both Western Australia and Victoria.
Aussie Gold Hunters is number one factual show on Foxtel this year, and consistently the highest rating show for Quest each week. A recent clip from the series, in which a massive $200,000 nugget is unearthed, went viral after it was posted in July – it’s been viewed 19 million times.
“The secret to the success of the series is really quite simple,” says Electric Pictures’ CEO Andrew Ogilvie.
“Gold is one of the few minerals that looks amazing the moment it comes out of the ground, and its shine immediately triggers our deep fascination for this metal. Another key ingredient is that Aussie Gold Hunters is aspirational. We focus on small operations, great characters, and situations which the average viewer can relate to, and this encourages them to think they could go out there and do it too.”
According to Ogilvie, series like these play an important role in the independent production industry in Australia, “Long running returnable series like Aussie Gold Hunters provide long-term employment for a sizable number of professionals, as well as training opportunities for less experienced filmmakers. The beauty of a large order like this is that we can take a few risks with new production talent, both in the field and in the edit room, that are not possible with single hour programs or limited series. We are proud of the role we are playing in helping to grow the talent pool in Western Australia, in particular.”
Nobel said: “We’re excited to bring our audience 40 more hours of Aussie Gold Hunters. The series has been one of Quest’s most successful with fans coming back week after week to follow the teams’ progress. Our audience are huge fans of character-led shows that give an insight into extreme jobs. In the fifth season, we’ll follow new and established teams as they battle the harsh climate and hunt for gold in the Aussie Outback in hope of striking it rich.”
Rebecca Kent, general manager Discovery Australia, New Zealand & Pacific Islands said: “Aussie Gold Hunters is Discovery Australia’s most successful franchise to date. A co-production with Electric Pictures and Discovery UK, we are thrilled with the record-breaking results the series has returned and we’re proud to significantly increase our investment in Australian productions with another two seasons. A core component of Discovery’s programming is showcasing tough jobs and Australia is renowned for having some of the most unique professions in the world. There’s a huge appetite for these stories and characters, both here and internationally, and we can’t wait to see our local prospectors continue to strike ratings gold!”