Discovery and Science Channel are teaming up with urban explorer Justin Fornal on “Uncharted,” TheWrap has learned exclusively. The new series will use modern technology and historical maps to investigate historical mysteries and legends.
Premiering this fall, the series follows Fornal as he cross-references information from old maps to seek long-forgotten information on legends such as a treasure ship buried in the middle of a California desert, and whether the Knights Templar secretly brought their treasure to the New World a century before Columbus arrived.
“With the use of old-school maps and the latest technology, Justin may have found just the right combination of tools to find the answers to mysteries that others before them have come up short in solving,” Science Channel general manager Marc Etkind told TheWrap.
Fornal is the man behind the Baron Ambrosia character, which he played from 2006-2013. Ambrosia called himself “quaffer of culinary consciousness,” and traveled around New York City visiting different ethnic cultures and sampling their cuisines. Fornal’s alter-ego eventually made its way to the Cooking Channel with The Culinary Adventures of Baron Ambrosia.”
In 2016, Fornal participated in efforts to identity the skull of Nat Turner, leader of an 1831 slave rebellion, and return it to his descendants. He has also traveled to Iraq, Afghanistan, and East Africa as part of his investigations, and in 2018 Men’s Journal named him #3 on their list of the “18 most adventurous people in the world right now.”
“Uncharted” (which is a working title) is produced by Karga Seven Pictures (a Red Arrow studios company) for Discovery and Science Channel. Kelly Mcpherson, Sarah Wetherbee, Emre Sahin, and Jason Wolf executive produce, with Johnny Fountain as Co-executive producer and Neil Laird executive producing for Discover and Science Channel.