Pretty soon Sarah Palin, the former Alaska governor, will be Sarah Palin, the Alaska documentary host.
The TLC cable channel said Thursday that it had acquired "Sarah Palin's Alaska," a documentary series about the nation's 49th state as seen through Palin's eyes.
In a news release about the acquisition, TLC's parent, Discovery Communications, did not characterize "Sarah Palin's Alaska" as a reality show, preferring to call it a "documentary series about the remarkable Governor Palin and her home state of Alaska."
For Palin, the Republican vice-presidential candidate in 2008 who resigned as Alaska's governor last year, the show is another indication that she is gravitating toward television. Two months ago she signed a paid contributor agreement with the Fox News Channel.
"Sarah Palin's Alaska" was shopped around Hollywood this month by Palin and Mark Burnett, the producer of "Survivor" and other reality shows, who will be the executive producer. The broadcast networks all passed on what was depicted as a nature-oriented show; a person at one of the networks said that it seemed to be a better fit for a company like Discovery, which owns a portfolio of natural history channels. Discovery said it had bought the global rights to the series.
The eight-episode travelogue will "reveal Alaska's powerful beauty as it has never been filmed, and as told by one of the state's proudest daughters," Peter Liguori, Discovery's chief operating officer, said in a statement. The channel has not yet specified a premiere date for the show, which has yet to start filming. Discovery said Palin was not available for an interview Thursday.
Discovery decided to direct "Sarah Palin's Alaska" to TLC, best known for its reality shows about big, small and unconventional families. It gained attention last year for "Jon & Kate Plus 8" as the marriage of that show's two stars collapsed.
Palin's conservative politics captivate some viewers and alienate others, creating a risk for TLC. The prospect of seeing Palin tour Alaska's wild habitats may rile some people who oppose her opinions about climate change. In recent months, she has condemned "the Obama administration's environmental extremism" and asserted that "we can't say with assurance that man's activities cause weather changes."
Asked whether Palin would share her views about climate change on the program, David Leavy, a Discovery spokesman, said "the deal was just concluded this week and now we begin the development and production."
"TLC is about strong characters and compelling narratives, and there is absolutely no intention of making a political program whatsoever," Leavy said.
Washington lawyer Robert B. Barnett represented Palin in her negotiations with Discovery. Barnett also negotiated a lucrative book deal for Palin last year.