VIDEO Discovery announces Gold Rush Season 5 premiere date, cast shuffle

Discovery found the ratings g|ory hole with their mining series Gold Rush, and the network has just officially announced when its number one show will be returning for a fifth season, as well as details about which miners will be back and where!

Gold Rush Season 5 will kick off with a two-hour premiere on Friday October 17 at 9/8c, and according to the press release (included below), fans can expect to see the Hoffman crew, Parker Schnabel and Tony Beets this season, all of which will be in Alaska or Canada. As we reported back in June, Dakota Fred, his son Dustin and the rest of the Porcupine Creek crew will not be returning to Gold Rush Season 5, but are instead having their 2014 mining season filmed for a separate documentary title All That Glitters. (Click here for Fred’s explanation for why he left Gold Rush.)

As you would have guessed, Todd Hoffman and the rest of his crew have decided to abandon their operation in Guyana after last season’s debacle that resulted in a handful of relatively worthless diamonds and an old shoe after millions were spent getting state-of-the art equipment to their jungle claim. I assume the equipment, as well as Todd’s pride and dignity, are still in Guyana, but Todd and most of his crew are not going to let a little thing like complete failure stand in their way of giving it another go — this time back in the cold climates well north of the Equator.

If you noticed, I said “Todd and most of his crew.” It appears that Dave Turin has decided to officially resign from the Hoffman crew as he tries his luck mining with Freddie and Derek Dodge. (It is unclear if Discovery cameras are documenting their exploits this season, although the network did include the promotional photo of the three of them at the top of this post in with the rest of the Gold Rush Season 5 pictures.) Judging from the Gold Rush Season 5 preview trailer (below) it looks as though the Turin/Dodge crew will be featured.

Also returning for another go is Gold Rush young gun, 20-year-old Parker Schnabel, who is coming off an impressive 1,000+ ounce season last year. He has apparently gone all-in on the new season, re-investing all of his earnings from his successful 2013 season for the 2014 season. And in a rather bold gesture, Parker has doubled his goal from 1,000 ounces to a WHOPPING 2,000 ounces for the upcoming season! That’s more than $2.5 million worth of gold y’all!

Speaking of Parker, it looks as though fans will be seeing more of his foul-mouthed boss Tony Beets as the Klondike mining legend looks to further live up to his nickname “The Viking” by getting himself a boat! Actually, a 75-year-old 210-ft floating gold dredge to be more specific. The hulking piece of equipment has been dormant for more than 30 years, but if anyone can get it churning out gold once again, it’s Tony Beets.

Also back in October is the network’s popular pre-show The Dirt with host, Gold Rush executive Producer Christo Doyle. It will also premiere on Friday, October 17, but will air just before at 8/7c.

Here’s the full press release:

DISCOVERY’S #1-RATED SHOW Gold Rush RETURNS FOR FIFTH SEASON WITH NEW CREWS, NEW MACHINES AND BOLD CHALLENGES

Two-Hour Gold Rush Season Premiere Kicks off Friday, October 17, at 9 PM ET/PT with The Dirt Airing at 8 PM ET/PT on the Discovery Channel

(Los Angeles, Calif.) – Discovery’s ambitious gold miners are back at it again and the stakes have never been higher. Who’s in and who’s out? This season, everything has changed – new miners, new claims, new machines and new ways to pull gold out of the ground. But will big risks lead to an even bigger pay out? Discovery’s #1-rated show Gold Rush returns for its fifth season on Friday, October 17 at 9 PM ET/PT, with the pre-show The Dirt, hosted by series executive producer Christo Doyle, at 8 PM ET/PT.

Returning this season is 20-year-old Parker Schnabel who proved himself in only his rookie season mining the Klondike – raking in over 1,000 ounces of gold worth 1.4 million dollars. Parker is taking off his “training wheels” this year, setting an unprecedented goal of 2,000 ounces worth more than $2.5 million dollars – double his take from last season. Parker re-invests every last cent in a mad scramble to get to good gold, asks more of his crew than ever before and manages to steal one of rival gold miner Todd Hoffman’s top mechanics. If Parker can hit his lofty goal, he could be on his way to becoming a Klondike legend. If not, it will become clear that his first season was simply a stroke of good luck.

Last season, Todd Hoffman rolled the dice and fell flat on his face. He hit rock bottom after braving the jungles of Guyana, South America, in an attempt to make a fortune along with his father Jack, Dave Turin, Jim Thurber and the rest of the Hoffman crew. This year, Todd is back at square one. His right hand man, Dave, has had enough, deserting Todd to mine with legends Freddie and Derek Dodge. Not only has Todd lost his land, most of his money, his crew, but worst of all, he has lost his dignity. His dream of mining in the jungle nearly destroyed him, but will he be able to rise from the ashes and turn things around? Or will this be the season that Todd throws in the towel once and for all? One thing is for certain — Todd will not go down without a fight.

Meanwhile, Tony Beets and his crew dive in full-time to take on the unthinkable. Tony, known throughout the Klondike as “The Viking,” buys a million dollar, 75-year-old floating gold dredge. But to resurrect the gold catching monster, he needs to take it apart piece by piece. The 210-foot dredge hasn’t been used in over 30 years and is a risky proposition. Can The Viking resurrect the machine capable of pulling millions out of the ground or will he be left with a 1,000 metal pieces of junk?

Also returning is the Gold Rush pre-show The Dirt, a series of one-hour shows, beginning 8 PM ET/PT on Friday, October 17. Series Executive Producer Christo Doyle sits down with the miners to get the inside scoop on all things GOLD RUSH. Fans are given the unique opportunity to interact with the miners and get access to behind-the-scenes, cutting room floor material that never makes it into the show.

With shocking twist and turns, season 5 of GOLD RUSH introduces fresh blood, new claims and MORE GOLD than ever seen before. Tune in on October 17 for a season of GOLD RUSH like none other.

GOLD RUSH is produced for Discovery Channel by Raw Television, where Dimitri Doganis and James Bates are executive producers and Marc Heffernan is series producer. For Discovery Channel, Christo Doyle is executive producer and Meagan Davis is producer.