Written by new-contact on May 15, 2013. Posted in On Location

Yukon-set Discovery Channel TV miniseries films on location in Alberta

Discovery Channel has built a film set near Calgary in Alberta, western Canada, for its new TV miniseries Klondike. The region is doubling for Dawson City in the northern province of Yukon and the show is based on the Klondike Gold Rush of the 1890s.

Partnering with Scott Free Productions and Nomadic Pictures, Discovery has recreated Dawson City on the CL Ranch near Calgary.

“Discovery now knows how to build a town!” Executive Producer Dolores Gavin told the Calgary Herald: “With our audience, we’ve got to ring true to the historical record. The action that was happening in Klondike was so immense in Dawson City. You can’t do that with eight or nine buildings; you need 30 buildings so we have 30 buildings."

The action that was happening in Klondike was so immense in Dawson City. You can’t do that with eight or nine buildings; you need 30 buildings so we have 30 buildings.

Dolores Gavin, Executive Producer

"If you really go back and look at the research, Dawson City was like Vegas. It was going 24-seven and you never knew what was going to happen," she added.

Alberta is a frequent double for more remote parts of Canada – and indeed Alaska – as the terrain looks similar and accessibility is easier. The Alberta Multimedia Development Fund offers production assistance.

To read about The Location Guide's scout of the real Dawson City in Yukon, click here.