UPDATED: Discovery Channel is revving up production on its limited series about the founders of Harley-Davidson Motorcycles, casting Michiel Huisman (“Game of Thrones”), Robert Aramayo (“Game of Thrones”) and Bug Hall (“The Little Rascals”), and tapping Evan Wright and Seth Fisher to write the six-hour project.
“Harley and the Davidsons,” from Raw Television, will tell the story of the birth of the iconic brand launched in 1903 by two friends from Milwaukee, William Harley and Arthur Davidson. Production is slated to begin in March. The series will air in three two-hour installments later this year.
Huisman (Daario Naharis on “Game of Thrones”) will star as Walter Davidson, while Aramayo will play William (Bill) Harley and Hall will portray Arthur Davidson in the series.
“Harley and the Davidsons” is part of the push to add a select number of high-end scripted projects to Discovery’s lineup under the leadership of Rich Ross, who took the reins of the cabler a year ago. Ross recruited producer John Goldwyn to drive the scripted initiative. Goldwyn exec produces “Harley” with Dimitri Doganis and Ciàran Donnelly. Donnelly is set to direct the first and third installments of the series.
“It was essential to find a dynamic, contemporary voice for a show set in the turn of the century America. With Evan Wright and Seth Fisher, we feel we have selected the perfect writers to transport the Discovery viewers back to the formative, hardscrabble years of Harley Davidson and the birth of motorcycle racing,” Ross told Variety.
Wright’s recent credits include Amazon’s “Man in the High Castle” and FX’s “The Bridge.” Fisher recently worked on National Geographic Channel’s “Saints and Strangers.” He’s also an actor who has logged appearances on “The Good Wife” and “CSI,” among other shows.
