Discovery Plans New MythBusters, Deadliest Catch Spin-Off & More

NEW YORK: Discovery Communications has unveiled highlights for the 2016-17 schedules of its bouquet of networks, which includes the flagship Discovery Channel launching the Deadliest Catch spin-off Dungeon Cove and Science Channel debuting Search for the Next MythBusters.

On Discovery Channel, new series include Cooper’s Treasure, which tells the story of an astronaut’s secret treasure map he began from space; Sacred Steel, joining the network’s Motor Mondays lineup; The Wheel, a survival show set in eight grueling landscapes across the world; and the Deadliest Catch spin-off Deadliest Catch: Dungeon Cove, which will follow the fishermen in Newport, Oregon, who risk their lives at sea as well as the families left on shore.

On the heels of the global broadcast of Racing Extinction, the network will launch Discovery Impact. This anthology series will focus on mankind’s impact on the environment and the impact that individuals can have in solving the world’s pressing global issues.

In addition to the miniseries Harley and the Davidsons, Discovery will premiere a new scripted project called Manifesto, which tracks how FBI agent Jim “Fitz” Fitzgerald brought down Ted Kaczynski, known as the “Unabomber.”

TLC is launching its first scripted series, while reintroducing the home and property genre. An eight-episode drama produced by Tyler Perry Studios, Too Close To Home (working title), tells the story of a young woman who escaped her working-class upbringing to discover success in the fast-paced D.C. political circuit, only to find herself at the center of a scandal. In the home and property genre, the network has slated Married To Design: Nate & Jeremiah (working title), Project Playhouse (working title) and Hidden Money Makeover (working title). There are also projects in the families and relationships space, among them OutDaughtered, which follows a couple with the only all-female set of quintuplets in the country; Meet the Putmans (working title), watching as 25 people live under one roof and share one bathroom; Sweet 15: Quinceañera; 90 Day Fiancé: After the 90 Days (working title); and the tattoo show Ink Ink Shop (working title).

The lineup for Investigation Discovery includes Hard Evidence: OJ is Innocent (working title), produced by Martin Sheen; Murder Chose Me; The Detectives Club: New Orleans; I, Witness (working title), which showcases real-life murder investigations as seen through the eyes of one individual; and Married With Secrets (working title). Further highlights for ID include Pandora’s Box: Unleashing Evil, We Did it for Love (working title), Jane Doe Diaries (working title), The Deadliest Decade (working title), about murder investigations in the ’80s; Dead Silent; Grave Secrets; and Murder Calls.

Animal Planet has lined up Penn Vet (working title), set within the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, and Texas Vet (working title), which takes place in Houston. New series include The Zoo (working title), about the Bronx Zoo in New York. Life of Dogs (working title) is a multi-part blue-chip series about canines. Project Grizzly (working title) is a docuseries about Jeff Watson and his two rescued bears. Among the host of blue-chip docs and films on the roster are Million Dollar Duck, about the world of the Federal Duck Stamp Contest; Life After: Chernobyl, coming 30 years after the nuclear catastrophe; and I Bought a Rainforest.

In Science Channel’s Search for the Next MythBusters, the network will be scouting for an all-new generation of science stars. Science has also lined up How to Build…Everything, breaking down the process behind the building of complex objects.

Velocity unveiled 400 hours of new content, including 100 hours of Barratt-Jackson Live, 13 franchises and original series. Leading off the originals slate is Speed is the New Black (working title), set in Noah Alexander’s Classic Car Studio. Two new series joining Speed is the New Black are Wild Rides Alaska (working title) and RMD Design (working title).

American Heroes Channel has set for 2016-17 Civil War Chronicles (working title), as well as How the World Ends (working title), giving theories and predictions about the world’s demise. The network will run a number of stunts and movies, including a Pearl Harbor 75th anniversary programming stunt.

Destination America has on its upcoming schedule Ghost Asylum, What’s for Sale: With a View and Ghost Brothers, about a team of paranormal investigators. Smoked, meanwhile, is set in the world of BBQ.

Also, Discovery Communications will soon debut an all-new SEEKER, a web-native network with more than 250 videos premiering every month and socially driven content. New programming on SEEKER includes Seeker Sabbatical, about disconnecting from your devices; Seeker VR, delving into the world of virtual reality; and Seeker Live, debuting with a week of live streams. Complementing established and soon-to-be introduced series, SEEKER will roll out a slate of short-form docs.