Richard Madden who stars.
(Please note: this article was originally published in February this year when the broadcast of the series was first confirmed.)
Discovery channel's first ever scripted miniseries Klondike must
not be missed. I've just seen the first episode and I'm mad for it - I have no doubt you'll feel the same because it's brilliant.
It premieres on Discovery Channel (DStv) tonight (Monday, 30 June) at 21h00 and it's a story of such ginormous danger and adventure that it reminds me of Lord of the Rings.
The story's about the Klondike gold rush that happened in the late 1890's in the Klondike region, in the North West of Canada.
It's called the Klondike because the gold was found round the Klondike River. Here's a map to give you an idea ... you'll see that you can't see the Klondike River on it because it's a tributary of the Yukon River but it's near Dawson City which you can see at the red dot:
Game of Thrones' Richard Madden stars as Bill Haskell, a real life prospector who makes the long and terrifying trek to the Klondike to seek his fortune. The series is based on the book Gold Diggers: Striking It Rich in the Klondike by Charlotte Gray and stars six characters from the book - all of whom are true life characters from the time.
Tim Roth/Sam Shepard
Other acting hottshots in the cast include Sam Shepard who plays Father Judge - a priest who wants to save everyone's souls - and Reservoir Dog Tim Roth who plays a lowlife known as The Count.
Johnny Simmons
Another notable is the character of Jack London, the real life author who didn't strike gold but made his fortune by writing about the time. He's played by Johnny Simmons in his first lead TV role.
My all-time fave character though is Belinda Mulrooney, the richest woman in the Klondike who made her fortune selling wood to miners. She's played by Australian actress Abbie Cornish:
Crossing the Chilikoot Pass - which you can see in the map - to reach gold.
The series gives a highly evocative, exciting and terrifying account of what a gold rush would have been like. The impact it made on the people who rushed and how it tried to steal their souls.
It also really makes you feel what it would have been like to be part of it. Facing such huge danger and seemingly insurmountable odds to strike gold or to leave with
nothing.
Here's a trailer: