Now that Gold Rush has wrapped and viewers look forward to Season 9, fans who like Todd Hoffman are wondering what is left after the Godly miner and his crew took leave of the popular Discovery series.
Hoffman has been hinting all along on his Facebook and Twitter accounts that he wants to produce and create a whole new mining show in, he says, ” the way it should be done”.
Sometimes you need a reset. I want to do A mining show the way in which it should be done. https://t.co/04ZkpUYzHs
— ZUM media Todd (@goldrushtodd) March 9, 2018
Hoffman’s son Hunter has not made a formal announcement yet he is leaving Gold Rush, although Todd did say he was on the Live event towards the end of the season.
However from all accounts, it feels like the younger generation — Monica and Kevin Beets, Hunter, and the show’s top dog Parker Schnabel — are all poised to take over the action full-time.
Schnabel has earned a second season of Parker’s Trail, heading to Guyana with Rick Ness, wilderness expert Karla Ann and new sidekick Sam Brown as they chase a 21st-century gold rush at the site of the legendary “El Dorado”.
The new season of Parker’s Trail begins Friday, March 30 at 9pm ET/PT on Discovery, and comes after the show hit records for the inaugural premiere as 2017’s #1 new unscripted cable series among the prized demographic of men aged 25-54.
But Hoffman now also looks to be throwing his creative arm into the Gold Rush genre and hinted about it in our exclusive interview with him.
Hoffman’s Christian faith is a large part of his new role at ZUM media, but Hoffman officially tipped his hat into the TV production ring with him and Jose Behar creating the Gold Standard Television Production Company for producing and financing new Outdoor Reality Shows.
Todd’s first series is called Prodigal, a scripted story based in the 1870’s old American west days. He also has a new mining series in development called Greenhorn Gold giving amateurs a chance to mine gold and take home their winnings.
It is unclear if son Hunter is fully abandoning Discovery’s #1 reality series.
On Gold Rush Live, Todd said: “My father Jack, and my son Hunter and team Hoffman are…we’re not going to be back on Gold Rush — maybe never again.”
But could Hunter take over from Todd to keep the Hoffman name in the core cast?
In an earlier interview this season, I asked Hunter if he was being primed to take over.
Hunter said: “Yeah, I mean as you can see with this season and the few episodes that have come out, I’m kind of stepping up, taking charge, and kind of taking over my own piece of the company and the operation here. I’m also only 18 and have a lot to learn.
“The whole thing’s a learning experience for me. In every episode this season I learn and grow way more than the first. So yeah, I’m trying to grow and just step up and get more and more responsibility.”
Gold Rush would return to our screens for Season 9 in October if Discovery sticks to the normal schedule. How that pans out without Todd, and how his new ventures fare, remain to be seen.
Two Gold Rush specials featuring sit-downs with Parker, Tony and Todd start at 8.30/7.30c tonight on Discovery.