Sam Shepard Joins Discover Channel Miniseries Klondike

Pulitzer Prize winner Sam Shepard has joined the cast of the Discovery Channel’s first scripted miniseries Klondike, reports Deadline.com.

The show follows six strangers as they struggle to survive and find wealth in a small frontier town in the Klondike. Shepard (who will replace last-minute pull-out Chris Cooper) will play Father Judge, a man who arrives in the town on a mission to save souls and atone for his violent past.

Two-time Tony nominee Shepard is an acclaimed playwright, winning the 1979 Pulitzer for Drama for Buried Child. His other theater credits include True West, Operation Sidewinder and Oh! Calcutta!. Of course, Shepard is also an actor who has appeared in The Notebook, Black Hawk Down, Safe House and the upcoming adaptation of August: Osage County (playing the family figurehead Beverly Weston).