Silver Spring, U.S.A. — Have no fear, bacon is here. With Americans gobbling up more than 1.7 billion pounds of bacon each year, Destination America brings bacon buffs what they crave with an all-new series, “United States of Bacon.” Each episode features our hog-wild host, Chef Todd Fisher, as he road trips to cities across America in search of the most mouth-watering, stomach-growl-inducing, sensory-overloading bacon creations kitchens have to offer.

While more than half of all U.S. homes (53%) keep bacon in their fridge at all times, no longer are the sizzling strips being relegated to the sidelines as a simple breakfast side dish. As Chef Todd discovers, bacon has become a beloved fixture of American cuisine for any meal of day and the “secret sauce” for recipes of all kinds, popping up on menus as the crown jewel of traditional dishes and in avant-garde pairings with ice cream, jam, and cocktails. The 12-episode first season of “United States of Bacon” premieres Sunday, December 30 at 10 & 10:30 PM E/P. If only television screens were scratch and sniff.

“From thick cut and juicy to thin and crispy, this series covers every form of bacon under the sun,” said Marc Etkind, SVP of Content Strategy for Destination America. “It’s no wonder bacon is in high demand – just watching “United States of Bacon” induces hunger pangs of epic proportions – but whether or not Americans feel the effects of an ‘aporkalypse’ bacon shortage, it certainly won’t be in short supply on Destination America.”

After the break-out bacon special in summer 2012′s three-part series “United States of Food” earned phenomenal ratings for the network, Chef Todd continued his road trip across America in search of bacon dishes that have diners squealing with delight.

In the premiere episode at 10 PM E/P, he visits Milwaukee, a city built on meat. His first stop is to homegrown hangout AJ Bombers for the Barrie Burger, an outrageous chunky peanut butter bacon cheeseburger that’s as savory as it is sweet. Then Todd swings by Saloon on Calhoun, a local bar with a bacon love so deep that they host a daily bacon happy hour featuring bacon-wrapped pork “wings” made from juicy tenderloin.

In Kenosha, Todd visits Frank’s Diner, the oldest continuously operating railcar restaurant in America, for a monstrous and meaty Garbage Platter exploding with eggs, hash browns, veggies, five different cheeses, and five kinds of meat. His final stop is the Comet Café, a small venue whose bacon-wrapped meatloaf sandwich and bacon cheddar apple pie have patrons begging for more.

Then at 10:30 PM, he continues his journey to Chicago, home to one of the country’s biggest bacon festivals. His first stop is Gino’s, where he feasts his eyes on a mammoth deep-dish pizza overflowing with meat and, of course, tons of bacon. Next, Todd chomps down on a massive triple-decker BLT at the 140-year-old Green Door Tavern.

Finally, he pulls up to Morrie O’Malley’s, a favorite pre-game stop among White Sox fans, for a classic Chicago dog. But up his sleeve, Todd’s got the makings of an innovative new bacon dish: the B-L-Turtle Burger. Other episodes have Todd making pit stops in Des Moines, Seattle, the Bay Area, Atlanta, Detroit, Los Angeles, and Portland, Oregon.

Viewers can also curb their bacon cravings by visiting BaconFreak.com, which has partnered with Destination America to provide even more “United States of Bacon” content.

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Putting the boom back in boomtown, Discovery Channel’s new series “Ghost Town Gold” follows two modern day explorers, Brit Eaton and Scott Glaves, as they track down priceless treasures of the Old West. From 19th century denim jeans to Wild West weaponry, railroad relics to cowboy collectibles, Brit and Scott are always on the prowl to turn what looks like rusty junk into everybody’s favorite collectible – cash. “Ghost Town Gold” premiered on Discovery Channel Thursday, November 15 at 10 PM ET/PT.

Part history buffs, part pickers, Brit and Scott visit old ghost towns, abandoned mining camps and industrial graveyards in search of treasured ruins from the Wild West. Whether it’s diving into a well that once hid prohibition-era moonshine or digging through dusty debris at a dilapidated ranch, Brit and Scott’s passion for history and the thrill of the hunt, drive them to these old boom-then-bust towns where there’s an endless supply of relics to find, explore and hopefully sell.

Brit and Scott have each been collecting and selling western memorabilia for over a decade and combined have over 25 years of experience. Today, Brit’s warehouse in Durango, Colorado holds more than 1-million artifacts including thousand-dollar whiskey bottles, old west revolvers and one-of-a-kind hand forged branding irons, to name a few.

The demand for these iconic items that capture the true spirit of the Old West is insatiable and every object featured in “Ghost Town Gold” has its own unique story to tell. Following Discovery Channel’s premiere of “Ghost Town Gold” on Thursday, November 15 at 10 PM ET/PT, an encore airing of the series will premiere on Destination America beginning Tuesday, January 1 at 10 PM ET/PT.

“Ghost Town Gold”  is produced by JWM Productions for Destination America. For JWM, Bill Morgan and Jason Williams are executive producers. Brit Eaton is an executive producer and Pamela Deutsch is executive producer for Discovery Channel and Destination America.

Image Courtesy : Discovery Channel

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Maryland, U.S.A. — They say “what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas,” but that’s not necessarily true for these cheaters, who have been exposed on casino floor. This August, Destination America slots an all-new series exploring the elaborate new measures casino security employs to beat them at their own game. Cheating Vegas, premiering Sunday, August 19 at 10 PM E/P, takes viewers behind the scenes of casinos to reveal real attempts at deception and foul play. Using exclusive surveillance footage and jailhouse interviews with former cheaters, as well as first-person accounts from accomplices, and casino owners, Cheating Vegas carefully documents recent scandals that were no ruse for the eye in the sky.

“Vegas may be the entertainment capital of the world, but it’s also a quintessential part of America’s character,” said Marc Etkind, SVP of Content Strategy for Destination America. “Destination America strives to showcase people and places that embody the American spirit through adventure, innovation, heroism, humor, or riskiness. Cheating Vegas goes to show that certainly the only thing riskier than gambling at a casino is trying to cheat at one!”

Each episode of Cheating Vegas features cheating attempts that range from double-dealing card players to chip counterfeiters and inside jobs resulting in massive heists. The one thing each situation has in common: the security camera does not lie. And with tens of thousands of cameras stationed around the city itself, nothing slips under the radar.-more-

The episode line-up for Cheating Vegas is as follows:

• Insiders

Premieres Sunday, August 19 at 10pm E/P
Casino employees and other “insiders” give viewers a behind-the-scenes look at gaming crimes, including the head of surveillance at The Aria, where thousands of cameras and high-tech systems are in place to create a cheat-proof casino. Also, investigators crack the crimes of the Tran Organization, who used corrupt card dealers to bilk casinos out of $7 million in a “false shuffle” scheme. And Arizona State basketball star Stevin Smith trades a chance to be considered for the NBA for a quick cash payout in a college basketball point shaving scandal.

• Game Changers

Premieres Sunday, August 26 at 10pm E/P
Security must stay one step ahead of the “game changers” – cheats who are devoted to the art of the scam, constantly reinventing casino tricks to counter the latest security measures – with investigators committed to tracking down notorious cons with clever devices. And while technology feeds this game of cat and mouse, sometimes cheats find a way to beat the system, like a former TV repairman who used an arsenal of homemade slot-machine devices to turn Vegas into his personal ATM. Viewers will also learn about a gang robbery that forever changed security measures in the cash cages.

• Hall of Fame

Premieres Monday, September 3 at 10pm E/P
Featuring the most brazen cheaters in Vegas, viewers will meet an all-star line-up of cons, from a man who rigged old-school mechanical slot machines for an estimated haul of nearly $10 million, to a daring duo who made casino-cheating history as the first to successfully transform $1 casino chips by “minting” them into any denomination they chose. Then there’s the The Biker Bandit, who dressed in full motorcycle garb to rob two different casinos including The Bellagio, where he escaped from with $1.5 million in playing chips.

Cheating Vegas is produced by Destination America and LMNO Cable Group, Inc. For LMNO, Lisa Bourgoujian is executive producer. For Destination America, Caroline Perez is director of development, Jeanie Vink is executive producer, Sara Kozak is SVP of production, Marc Etkind is SVP of content strategy, and Henry Schleiff is president and general manager.

Image Courtesy of Destination America

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Silver Spring, U.S.A. — Everyone has a bucket list of things to accomplish in their lifetime. They usually look a bit like this: hike the Appalachian Trail, visit Graceland, go on a New Orleans ghost tour, get pulled onto stage at a Vegas magic show – but Chef Todd Fisherhungers for experiences with a bit more meat to them.

As a life-long restaurateur, Chef Todd’s passion for palate pleasers has him questing for the best bacon, burgers, and steaks at not just eateries, but meat temples, across the nation in Destination America’s new original series “United States of Food”, premiering Sunday, July 8 at 9 PM E/P with “United States of Bacon.” Subsequent episodes include “United States of Burgers” on July 15 and “United States of Steak” on July 22.

“The story of America’s love affair with food would not be complete without a chapter on our hearty hallmarks: bacon, burgers, and steak,” said Marc Etkind, SVP of Content Strategy for Destination America. “With a tremendous zeal for all things meat and an appetite for inspiring taste buds through the TV screen, Chef Todd makes the perfect host for “United States of Food” and a welcome addition to the Destination America family.”

Throughout the series, “United States of Food” visits venues with the best and most innovative menu items in the nation. Making Chef Todd’s “bucket list” are pop culture mainstays like Chicago’s Billy Goat Tavern, whose “cheeburgers” were made famous by Saturday Night Live, as well as trail-blazing small businesses like the Bacon Bacon Truck in San Francisco and their traffic-stopping grilled cheese, which oozes bacon jam in addition to containing a few strips of the real stuff.

A visit to NYC’s famous Crif Dogs proves serendipitous as record-holding hot dog competitive eater Takeru Kobayashi is spotted among the crowd of diners tasting his first bacon-wrapped hot dog. “United States of Food” rounds out its journey at venues as interesting as the dishes they concoct, such as The Grill House in Allegan, Mich., a grill-your-own steak joint that is also rumored to be haunted. The three one-hour episodes include:

United States of Bacon [Premieres Sunday, July 8 at 9 PM E/P]

Bacon is undeniably, irrefutably one of America’s most favorite foods. But long gone are the days when all that greasy goodness was restricted to a measly side order at breakfast.

Today, America is taking bacon to a wild, new extreme that has it popping up in meals and on menus you’d never expect and in ways your taste buds have only dreamed. Chef Todd Fisher samples bacon burgers at Slaters 50/50 in Los Angeles, learns how NYC’s Crif Dogs crafts their bacon-wrapped hot dogs, nibbles a bacon and chocolate ice cream sandwich at Big Gay Ice Cream, and halts traffic to taste test the Bacon Bacon Truck’s bacon jam-filled grilled cheese in San Francisco.

These aren’t just restaurants or eateries. They’re bacon temples. One man. One country. One strip of bacon at a time.

United States of Burgers [Premieres Sunday, July 15 at 9 PM E/P]

The hamburger is America’s signature sandwich, but Chef Todd Fisher only has the best of the best on his burger bucket list. His food journey begins in Connecticut at Louis Lunch, the home of the hamburger’s creation and then onto Boston where Bartley´s Gourmet Burgers constantly adds a twist to the staple sandwich.

Next, Chef Todd finds hamburger perfection in a New York City steakhouse and then hits Chicago for “cheeburgers,” made famous by a Saturday Night Live skit but inspired by the grill masters at Billy Goat Tavern. The bucket list then brings Chef Todd to Memphis for a mouthwatering deep-fried burger from Dyer’s On Beale, and finishes in Atlanta at Holeman and Finch, where the coveted “Burger Time” ritual offers 24 carefully assembled burgers each night.

United States of Steak [Premieres Sunday, July 22 at 9 PM E/P]

Todd Fisher is on a mission to check the best steaks in America off of his bucket list. Kicking off in the Lone Star State, known for their cattle and cowboys, he tastes the perfect Texas T-Bone and samples a down-home classic: the chicken fried steak.

In Michigan, Chef Todd cooks up his favorite cut of beef at a haunted grill-your-own steak joint then makes his way to Boston for the classic Yankee fare and a monstrous prime rib. Stopping in Brooklyn, Chef Todd finds out why Peter Luger’s Porterhouse has been rated number one in New York for 28 years running before finishing his journey in Mississippi at the unlikeliest steak mecca you’d ever imagine.

“United States of Food” is produced for Destination America by Sharp Entertainment. For Sharp, Matt Sharp is executive producer. For Destination America, Fay Yu and Ron Simon are executive producers, Sara Kozak is SVP of production, Marc Etkind is SVP of content strategy, and Henry Schleiffis president and general manager.

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Silver Spring, U.S.A. – We’ve grown up with America’s favorite treat – fast food. From beloved childhood memories to classic Americana, the art of quick and delicious fare represents some of life’s greatest pleasures and often marks milestone moments. .

Destination America invites fans to celebrate gastronomy-to-go as Fast Food Mania makes its world premiere on June 3, 2012, diving into the pop culture world of fast food, digging into its cuisine, featuring its fanatics and exploring all the one-of-a-kind wonders it has to offer. The immersive tour de food will be led by the intrepid fast food aficionado, Jon Hein (“The Howard Stern Show” and “The Fast Food Show” on Sirius/XM) as he dines and decodes the world’s most popular dishes.

The travel-packed and finger-licking series will not only look at awesome eats, but also offer up essential tips for navigating the ever-winding drive troughs and ordering secret menu items, as well as delve into never-before-seen test kitchens of some of America’s favorite chains.

Fast Food Mania also reveals behind-the-scenes stories and little known facts, including answers to trivia questions such as “Who designed the signature red and white KFC bucket?” Bet you didn’t know it was the owner of another popular fast food restaurant – Dave Thomas of Wendy’s — who once operated one of the largest KFC franchises!

“Some of our country’s most fascinating stories are born from the hard work and determination of what were once mom and pop businesses that evolved into great American successes – stories of the underdog selling the hot dog, if you will,” said Marc Etkind, senior vice president of content strategy for Destination America.

“Fast Food Mania celebrates those accomplishments and takes viewers on a nostalgic ride revisiting memorable campaigns, iconic outposts and, of course, tasty menu items – sometimes with a side of fries.”

This season, Fast Food Mania makes stops at beloved eateries such as Sonic, Dunkin Donuts, Dominos, Taco Bell, and the original hot dog stand by the sea, Nathan’s Famous in Coney Island, NY. But it’s not just about the legendary brands. Fast food mania also uncover the up-and-coming chains making their mark, as well as hidden gems like Jet BBQ, a historic firehouse turned true drive-thru restaurant in Wichita, KS.

Fast Food Mania is produced by Sharp Entertainment with Matt Sharp serving as executive producer. Bob Larson is executive vice president and Dan Adler is vice president of production at Sharp Entertainment. Alison Mouledoux serves as co-executive producer. For Destination America, Fay Yu is executive producer, Sara Kozak is senior vice president of production, Marc Etkind is senior vice president, content strategy and Henry Schleiff is president and general manager.

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