The producers of "Deadliest Catch" are working on a West Virginia mining docu-series for Spike TV called "Coal," The Hollywood Reporter said.

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Word of the show's development came as TV viewers around the world were captivated by the rescue of 33 trapped Chilean miners this week. However, Spike TV said the show has been in development for a year.

The series is executive produced by Thom Beers and his Original Productions company, which also produces "Ice Road Truckers" and "Ax Men."

"It didn't take a tragedy, and then a miracle, to get us excited about this," Sharon Levy, executive vice president of original programming at Spike, told The Hollywood Reporter.

"Obviously, we're humongous fans of the kind of shows Thom does that celebrate the everyday man. He said, 'We're working on this project called "Coal."' And we said we'd take it."