This December, Discovery invites viewers to escape the cold with a hot lineup of new and returning programming, headlined by Discovery’s original special MOTHER NATURE IS TRYING TO KILL YOU, airing Monday, Dec. 11 at 11 p.m. ET/8 p.m. PT. Inspired by the best-selling book Mother Nature is Trying to Kill You from Discovery’s own Dan Riskin (DAILY PLANET), the one-hour special takes viewers on a lively romp through the dark side of the natural world, revealing the fascinating, weird, and often cutthroat ways Mother Nature fends only for herself.
Rounding out the month, Discovery celebrates the festive season with a holiday programming slate full of episodes from the network’s most-loved series, including complete seasons and multi-episode marathons from Sunday, Dec. 24 – Tuesday, Jan. 2.
Below is a listing of Discovery’s programming highlights for December. All programming is subject to change (all times ET; visit discovery.ca to confirm local broadcast times; programming subject to change):
NEW SERIES
Fridays at 9 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT beginning Dec. 1
Discovery kicks off its December programming slate with scientist Rob Nelson investigating the strangest underground locations in the world in the new series, SECRETS OF THE UNDERGROUND. Using cutting-edge technologies, the eight-part series sheds new light on the secrets that lie beneath.
ROCKY MOUNTAIN RAILROAD – Exclusive Episode Sneak Peek of Discovery’s Latest Original Canadian Series
Tuesday, Dec. 12 at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT
Before ROCKY MOUNTAIN RAILROAD comes to Discovery’s March schedule, viewers are getting a little something under the tree with a full-episode sneak peek! The new, eight-part series follows the resilient crews battling ferocious weather and treacherous terrain to keep Canada’s critical freight and passenger trains rolling through the winter. It’s a thrilling journey through the icy mountain wilderness on the country’s most extreme railway.
NEW SEASONS OF RETURNING SERIES
MIGHTY SHIPS – Original Canadian Series
Sundays at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. ET beginning Dec. 3.
Discovery embarks on Season 10 of its popular, long-running original series with an unparalleled stem-to-stern journey aboard the world’s most sophisticated vessels, exploring places and technologies usually off limits to land lovers.
DAILY PLANET– Theme Week!
Monday, Dec. 4 through Friday, Dec. 8 at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT
Everything high-tech is back as DAILY PLANET reveals out-of-this-world and ingenious gadgets and gear just in time for the holidays with its always-anticipated annual “High-Tech Toys Week”. Airing exclusively on Discovery, co-hosts Ziya Tong and Dan Riskin track down the most technologically advanced and buzzed-about toys on the planet.
The quest for the truth continues through mind-blowing experiments and of course, explosions, when MYTHBUSTERS returns with an all-new season and all all-new team. MYTHBUSTERS Brian Louden and Jon Lung separate fact from fiction in spectacular style with a dazzling array of epicly wild experiments involving combustible gas tanks, water-heater torpedoes, and so much more.
HIGHWAY THRU HELL – Season 6 Finale
Tuesday, Dec. 5 at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT
In a must-see finale of the original Canadian series HIGHWAY THRU HELL, Jamie Davis travels across North America to explore the roots of heavy rescue. From the invention of the first tow truck to the latest modern machines, Davis explores the history of wreckers and how they have changed the world. Then, his classic restoration – “The ‘Mighty Mo” – finally comes to life. The special finale episode also features sneak peeks of Season 2 of Discovery’s mega-hit series HEAVY RESCUE: 401.
NEW MOVIES AND SPECIALS:
DRAIN ALCATRAZ – Original Canadian Documentary
Sunday, Dec. 3 at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.
Alcatraz, the world’s most infamous prison, was also known as the most inescapable – but what made the escape from the island fortress impossible? In a broadcast first, Discovery uses cutting-edge CGI to drain the sea, offering an unobstructed view of Alcatraz and what lies below the surface of San Francisco Bay’s former island prison.
Friday, Dec. 8 at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT
Behind the million-dollar smile, Rodney Alcala had a dark secret. A handsome man, he was a depraved serial killer who preyed on young, attractive women. Alcala was sentenced to death after being convicted of five murders in the 1970s. He later confessed to 30 more, but its believed he killed up to 130 people. During his killing spree, Alcala even appeared on the television series THE DATING GAME, and was later given the nickname “Dating Game Killer”. Now, the life of the notorious predator and serial killer is the focus of a true-crime movie by the same name, DATING GAME KILLER. Through parallel storylines, DATING GAME KILLER stars Guillermo Diaz (SCANDAL) as Rodney Alcala and Carrie Preston (THE GOOD WIFE) as the mother of one of his victims seeking justice for her murdered daughter.
MOTHER NATURE IS TRYING TO KILL YOU – Discovery Original Special
Monday, Dec. 11 at 11 p.m. ET/8 p.m. PT
Based on his “filthy, wonderful, enlightening book” by the same title, host Dan Riskin brings to life sordid tales of insects, animals, and other creatures behaving in shocking fashion – viewers will never think of nature in the same beautiful, bucolic way again. Created for adult audiences, the one-hour, fact-filled, and amusing trek through the natural world uses witty animations to offer dozens of jaw-dropping examples demonstrating how truly ruthless nature can truly be.
Friday, Dec. 15 at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT
A true-crime drama based on the longest-running criminal case in U.S. history, FINAL VISION is the story of Jeffrey MacDonald, a handsome, ivy league-educated, green beret army doctor who was convicted of brutally murdering his pregnant wife and two young daughters. One of the most horrifying murder cases of its time, FINAL VISION is told through the eyes of bestselling author Joe McGinniss, who was approached by MacDonald and asked to write a book about his personal nightmare as he approached trial.
HOLIDAY HIGHLIGHTS:
Sunday, Dec. 24
ALASKA: THE LAST FRONTIER – Season 7 Marathon
11 a.m. ET – 9 p.m. ET
The Kilcher family is back to kick off Season 7 with a complete homestead overhaul. The family, led by patriarch Atz Kilcher, has cultivated and inhabitated their Alaksan homestead for generations, learning how to live off the land, hunt for food, and survive the harsh Alaskan wilderness.
ALASKA: THE LAST FRONTIER – New Episode, Season 7
9 p.m. ET
The Kilcher family try to pick up the historic Octagon building and move it to safety, then finish Shane’s multi-year cabin build before winter once again stops them cold.
ALASKA: THE LAST FRONTIER – New Holiday Special: The Day Santa Came to the Homestead
10 p.m. ET
Description currently unavailable. Please check Discovery.ca for updates.
Monday, Dec. 25
ALASKAN BUSH PEOPLE – Season 3 Marathon
6 a.m. ET – 10 p.m. ET
Deep in the Alaskan wilderness lives a newly discovered family born and raised wild. Billy Brown, his wife Ami, and their seven grown children – five boys and two girls – are so far removed from civilization they often go six to nine months without seeing an outsider. They’ve developed their own accent and dialect, refer to themselves as a “wolf pack”, and sleep together in a one-room cabin. Simply put, they are unlike any family in America.
ALASKAN BUSH PEOPLE – New Holiday Special
10 p.m. ET
Description currently unavailable. Please check Discovery.ca for updates.
Tuesday, Dec. 26
GOLD RUSH – Season 8 Marathon
11 a.m. ET – 10 p.m. ET
Gold mining is a risky business, where one wrong move can cost a crew millions of dollars. As another Klondike winter thaws, miners Parker Schnabel, Tony Beets, and Todd Hoffman take on even greater risks in hopes of finding striking gold. But not every gamble pans out…
GOLD RUSH – New Holiday Special
10 p.m. ET
Description currently unavailable. Please check Discovery.ca for updates.
Wednesday, Dec. 27
MOONSHINERS – Season 7 Marathon
4 p.m. ET – 9 p.m. ET
America’s original rebel tastemakers, moonshiners are fiercely loyal to the traditions and history of those who came before them. Willing to risk it all to keep these traditions alive, moonshiners keep pushing their techniques into the future to create the groundbreaking spirits that are their namesake.
MOONSHINERS – New Holiday Special: Moonshiners Christmas
9 p.m. ET
It’s time for mistletoe and holly – and America’s original liquor. Tim and JT team up with Tickle’s mother and daughter to create a Christmas surprise, while Chico and Sondra head out to get the Christmas turkey.
Thursday, Dec. 28
LAST STOP GARAGE – Season 1 Marathon
10 a.m. ET – 4 p.m. ET
Original Canadian series LAST STOP GARAGE stars a colourful crew of ingenious mechanics who operate out of CRB Automotive – a family-owned garage in North West River, Labrador – located on one of the furthest driveable points on the eastern seaboard. Using sometimes questionable backwoods resourcefulness, the clever automotive-hack specialists put their “mechanical magic” to work, fixing and building just about anything for anyone in their remote town of 553 residents. With a whole lot of heart, they “get’er done”, Labrador style. Just as the community relies on the shop, the mechanics rely on the eccentric locals for wisdom, parts, and a helping hand.
FAST N’ LOUD – Season 5 Marathon
4 p.m. ET – 10 p.m. ET
Hot-rod hunter Richard Rawlings and his team of Monkeys at Gas Monkey Garage go bigger and badder than ever before as they enter a new stage at the garage, setting out to prove the shop is still going strong. Throughout Season 5, the team gets their hands on some unique cars, including a 1965 Shelby GT Mustang, but they come with hefty prices tags.
Friday, Dec. 29
HIGHWAY THRU HELL – Season 6 Marathon
10 a.m. ET – 11 p.m. ET
Discovery’s original Canadian hit series HIGHWAY THRU HELL Season 6 sees the most intense weather challenges ever filmed on B.C.’s Coquihalla Highway, as heavy rescue owner/operator Jamie Davis is forced to up his manpower and trust his trucks, reputation, and the fate of the highways to his family and returning go-to colleague, Colin McLean. Through narrow, rocky, and vital trucking corridors, the 14-episode season follows the dangerous fight the men of Jamie Davis Heavy Rescue must brave during winter weather and wild wrecks.
Saturday, Dec. 30
DEADLIEST CATCH – Season 13 Marathon
8 a.m. ET – 11 p.m. ET
Over the past 12 years, the veteran captains of DEADLIEST CATCH thought they had seen it all, but this season proves to be like no other on record. Generations of fishermen have made a hard living setting out of Dutch Harbor, Alaska, one of America’s most prolific crabbing ports. This season, crabs have seemingly vanished, igniting a grueling hunt to save the fleet’s way of life.
Sunday, Dec. 31
CANADA’S WORST DRIVER – Season 13 Marathon
4 p.m. ET – 11 p.m. ET
Notable host, creative producer, and writer Andrew Younghusband is back at the Driver Rehabilitation Centre in Dunnville, Ont. for Season 13 of CANADA’S WORST DRIVER, as eight disastrous Canadian drivers take on various challenges behind the wheel. CANADA’S WORST DRIVER is the longest-running and highest-rated series among the “Worst Driver” formats internationally.
Monday, Jan. 1
HEAVY RESCUE: 401 – Season 1 Marathon
3 p.m. ET – 12 p.m. ET, Jan. 2
From the makers of Discovery’s top-rated series HIGHWAY THRU HELL, original Canadian series HEAVY RESCUE: 401 takes on the many twists and turns of the men and women who keep roads safe across Southern Ontario’s 400-series highways. Just ahead of the Season 2 premiere on Tuesday, Jan. 2, the Season 1 marathon of HEAVY RESCUE: 401 follows major tow truck operations, police, and maintenance crews as they deal with diverse challenges, including those on the busiest highway in North America, the 401.