Mining Reality Show "Coal" Headed to Spike TV

NEW YORK (CBS) Spike TV has reportedly picked up a reality show about the harsh world of coal mining.

"Coal," which will be produced by the same team that brought forth "Deadliest Catch," will be a docuseries chronicling the lives of coal miners in West Virginia, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

Although the announcement came a day after the successful rescue mission of 33 Chilean miners, which drew international headlines, network execs insist the series has been in development for over a year.

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"It didn't take a tragedy, and then a miracle, to get us excited about this," Sharon Levy, executive VP of original programming at Spike TV, said to THR.

Levy said the network was first prepared to make the announcement weeks ago but deliberately held off until the Chilean miners were rescued.

"We've tapped into something that people are passionate about; this is a topic the world is interested in," he said. "Everybody is afraid of being buried alive. These people risk their lives every day to make the world move, yet most of us never really think about how we get [our energy]."