Gold Rush Star Parker Schnabel Says This Is Why Fans Love The Show So Much
It's safe to say "Gold Rush" is an immensely popular series on Discovery. The show's been going strong since 2010, offering new expeditions every season to keep audiences guessing which teams will walk away much richer and which will leave with their tails between their legs. Not only that, but the show has spawned numerous spinoffs, including "Parker's Trail," "White Water," and "Freddy Dodge's Mine Rescue," to name a few.
The numbers don't lie. According to a 2021 report, "Gold Rush" was the most-watched unscripted television series among men for Friday nights (via The Futon Critic). As long as there's gold in the earth, you can bet your bottom dollar Discovery's going to hitch itself to the "Gold Rush" bandwagon for quite some time to come.
But what is it about the show that keeps audiences coming back one season after the next? "Gold Rush" star Parker Schnabel has a couple of ideas.
Parker Schnabel says people watch Gold Rush because it's an 'intense ride'
"Gold Rush" follows a rich tradition of unscripted television that highlights off-the-wall, somewhat dangerous jobs. It's similar to the likes of "Deadliest Catch" and "Ice Road Truckers," but audiences seem to have gravitated toward "Gold Rush" moreso than those other series. When The Guide Online Magazine asked what he thinks makes viewers love the show so much, Parker Schnabel responded, "I think the main reason why our audience gravitates towards the show is that it's a unique business in that you go into not knowing what the outcomes will be. We take our audiences through an intense ride of the risky side of the business."
Of course, all of the best shows have more than one hook to them. Schnabel goes on to elaborate, "On the flip-side of that, there are very interesting characters in the show. Most of the miners around the Yukon have been with the show for a very long time, and I think the audiences want to see how far their [favorites] go on every season."
A unique way of life combined with intriguing characters is always a surefire formula that "Gold Rush" has utilized to great effect one season after the next. There's no doubt that if Discovery has its way, the series will continue for a long time to come.