Coal

Coal is a leading source of energy, a major cause of climate change, and now, the name of a popular new show on Spike TV. Producer Thom Beers, who has created a huge television empire out of shows like “Deadliest Catch,” “Ax Men” and “Ice Road Truckers,” captures the drama that comes with working deep underground in Coal. The show focuses on a new company in West Virginia called the Cobalt Coal Corporation, which gets its ore the old-fashioned way–by digging it out, rather than using mountain top removal. Mining underground is challenging and dangerous, and Beers, following the hardy men who go into the mine every day to bring out our power, offers no judgment on the effect their work has on rising greenhouse gas emissions. Mountainfilm audiences will get to see the season finale weeks before it airs and hear from Beers how he creates compelling television.