Gold Fever on Discovery traces California Gold Rush

Gold Fever on Discovery Friday, Oct. 11 beginning at 9pm ET and Friday, Oct. 18 beginning at 9pm ET: Discovery just can’t get enough gold these days. In addition to its hit series Gold Rush, which makes it Season 4 return Oct. 25, the network is introducing a new four-part documentary miniseries titled Gold Fever. The documentary plays out as part documentary with narration and expert opinion, and part movie with elaborate sets, characters and a continued storyline. It’s an engrossing educational look at the California Gold Rush and how America was transformed from a fledgling nation into one of enormous wealth and power.

The story is rich in detail and visuals, where viewers will follow the Gold Rush from its very beginnings when James W. Marshall on Jan. 24, 1848, first discovered gold in California’s American River. Marshall’s mistake — we learn — was telling Samuel Brannan, a Sacramento businessman and newspaper publisher, who — before spreading the word — gathered every shovel and gold pan in the region to create a monopoly and ultimately make him the Gold Rush’s first millionaire.

The miniseries is executive produced by the Emmy-winning team that brought us the fascinating The Men Who Build America. In addition to the aforementioned, Gold Fever follows the real-life group of the Boston Company, a group of 40 men who made the 2,000-mile trek West with dreams of  building a fortune mining for gold. Included in this group was Charles Robinson, who would become one of the most important men in the California Gold Rush. Viewers also will get a firsthand look through historians, experts, visual effects and dramatic scenes about how the men of the Boston Company pursued their opportunity for a new life while trying to survive from January 1848 to October 1850. Parts of the series are graphic in nature, as violence, greed and chaos took over as thousands of miners battled each other for the same small fortune of buried treasure. And as the press materials best stated, while these men fought and died for gold, they had no idea that the fortune they’d uncover – worth an estimated $25 billion – would transform the country forever, laying the foundation of the American Dream and making possible the creation of an American empire.

So sharpen up on your history and enjoy Gold Fever! Air dates and times are below:
Gold Fever on Discovery – Part 1 airs Friday, Oct. 11 at 9pm ET, Part 2 airs Friday, Oct. 11 at 10pm; Part 3 airs Friday, Oct. 18 at 9pm ET; Part 4 airs Friday, Oct. 18 at 10pm.