As Discovery’s popular reality series Deadliest Catch premieres its 22nd season on May 8, Canadian broadcaster Rogers Sports & Media has greenlit a local version, Deadliest Catch: Northern Edge, as the first international adaptation of the popular Warner Bros. Discovery property.
A deal with Fremantle Canada will see eight episodes follow a new fleet of captains, this time from Newfoundland and Nova Scotia, taking to the frigid North Atlantic to harvest Snow Crab in rough waters.
“We’re excited to expand one of our most successful brands with a version tailored to put Canadian fishermen on the world stage. The series will explore the real and nuanced challenges uniquely faced by Canada’s fishing communities,” Michela DiMondo, executive vp of distribution Canada, international at Fremantle, said in a statement of the series from indie producers Attraction and Fremantle’s Original Productions for Discovery Canada.
Rogers has already had ratings success with Canada’s Got Talent, a local version of the Got Talent franchise from Syco Entertainment and FremantleMedia, and the Canadian broadcaster has just premiered a local version of The Price is Right, with Howie Mandel as host and based on the Fremantle format.
“Deadliest Catch has defined best-in-class factual television for more than 20 years. With Deadliest Catch: Northern Edge, we’re proud to bring this iconic format to Canada as the first international adaptation, telling a distinctly Canadian story of grit, heritage, and survival in one of the world’s most unforgiving oceans,” Kale Stockwell, head of original programming at Rogers Sports & Media, added in a statement.
The Deadliest Catch documentary series returning this week on Discovery stateside, and produced by Original Productions, will feature extreme fishermen catching the elusive Red King Crab. The May 8 premiere episode will include a tribute to Todd Meadows, a 25-year-old deckhand on the Aleutian Lady who died as a result of an accident during production of the 22nd season.
Deadliest Catch: Northern Edge will also be produced in association with Discovery U.S. and Discovery Canada.
