Discovery's new slate: infomercial series, 'Deadliest Catch' movie, survival series among seven projects

Exclu: Discovery Channel is set to unveil a sweeping new programming slate that includes a brand-expanding series about infomercial pitchmen and a rare venture into scripted programming with a two-hour movie inspired by the success of “Deadliest Catch.”

The network has greenlighted at least seven new projects, including several from top docudrama creators Thom Beers and Craig Piligian, as part of an effort to continue increasing its number of original programming hours.

First is “But Wait … There’s More” from executive producer Beers, which follows longform ad salesmen Billy Mays and Anthony “Sully” Sullivan as they evaluate quirky new products, craft pitches and take to the airwaves to push the goods.

The entrepreneurial advertising-age setting marks a departure for Discovery and Beers, the latter best known for his gritty, naturalistic series such as the network’s top-rated “Deadliest” and History’s “Ice Road Truckers.” Discovery has ordered 13 episodes of the show and plans to premiere it in the spring.

“They’re a pair of great characters who have become multimillionaires doing this business,” Discovery Channel president and general manager John Ford said. “Beers is the ultimate entrepreneur himself, so this is a labor of love for him.”

Beers also will be an executive producer (along with Philip Segal, and Karen Wookey as producer) on a two-hour movie based on the short-story collection “Working on the Edge,” about a Bering Sea fishing vessel that sank and left its crew struggling to stay alive on the open sea.

“It’s a true story of survival of these guys who abandoned ship, and it will flow from the ‘Deadliest Catch’ experience,” Ford said.

More in Discovery’s traditional wheelhouse is Piligian’s reality series “Out of the Wild,” on which suburbanites are dropped in the Alaskan wilderness and must trek back to civilization. “Wild” has roots in previous Discovery project “The Alaska Experiment,” which had a group living in a cabin.

“We wanted to ramp up the energy and have them going from Point A to Point B across really tough terrain,” Ford said. “They have no food — nothing but training, the packs on their backs and hunting gear.”

The eight-episode series will premiere in April during Discovery’s “Alaska Week.”

Piligian also will produce the new series “Swamp Logging,” about a logger who harvests trees in an extreme environment. Six episodes are planned.

“He goes where nobody else can go and where you shouldn’t even be able to move around,” Ford said.
Another Piligian show, “Moments of Terror,” will be a companion to the producer’s freshman series “Destroyed in Seconds.” “Destroyed” premiered last year and was an instant hit for Discovery, with a recent Saturday marathon clocking the largest total-day average viewership in the network’s history.

“Destroyed” shows structures that have been decimated by natural and man-made forces, and “Moments” will profile individuals who have had near-death experiences.

In addition to a 13-episode debut season of “Terror,” Discovery will order a second season of “Destroyed.”

But wait … there’s more:

• In the spring, Discovery will air a six-part series from the production unit that shot its immensely popular miniseries “Planet Earth.” Titled “Seasons of Survival,” the Discovery-BBC co-production will show mass movements of animals caused by seasonal migration, climate change, storms and floods. “They use the same advanced photographic techniques from ‘Planet Earth’ to show a lot of shiver-up-the-spine moments,” Ford said.

• The network is reviving Beers’ occupational docudrama series “Lobstermen,” which had a three-episode run in 2007. The network has picked up the show for eight hours.

• Discovery is planning a two-hour documentary on the August mountain-climbing tragedy on K2. CBS Prods.’ “Disaster on K2” will tell the story of 30 climbers who went up the mountain, with only 11 surviving.

“The nice thing is we’ve broadened the mix of producers and content to give viewers the variety they crave,” said Ford, who recently presided over the network’s best-rated fourth quarter to date among adults 18-49. “We’re ramping up the volume and keeping the quality high because viewers hold us to a very high standard.”

[Coverage of the Television Critics Association's semi-annual press tour begins today in The Live Feed blog]