Discovery Channel has brokered a deal with Sarah Palin to host an eight-part documentary about Alaska with the former governor as the central roving attraction. It will be appearing on Discovery's sister network TLC. It's certainly a lucrative arrangement. Palin will reportedly be getting $1 million an episode. The Guardian's Marina Hyde notes that her total take "will clock in at slightly more than it cost to buy the entire state from the Russians in 1867...".
The filmmaker behind the project, reality king Mark Burnett, describes Palin as "a dynamic personality that has captivated millions". According to a Globe and Mail report "Burnett and Palin had been pitching the series to various networks in recent weeks and had been asking for $1.2-million an episode, considered expensive in the world of nonfiction television".
Hard to imagine Palin without a political opinion or two while doing the rounds of her home state. The former governor has a record to live down, especially on the environment. Professor Rick Steiner of the University of Alaska provides more detail on Palin's "abysmal" record - here.
Palin is a climate change denier, a proponent of aerial wolf hunting and a big drilling enthusiast. This was a stance she drove home during the election, most famously during the vice-presidential debate with Joe Biden when she made the "drill baby drill" comment.
