Hoffman Family Gold: What Is The Goal Of The Gold Rush Spin-Off?

Todd Hoffman, 54, and Hunter Hoffman, 24, the father-son duo from Discovery's "Gold Rush" series, have since gone their separate ways in terms of gold mining. Now, the two Hoffmans are each running their own mining crews in a spin-off series titled "Hoffman Family Gold," which premiered its first season on Discovery in 2022.

"Hoffman Family Gold" takes place in Alaska's Mammoth Valley Mine. According to TV Insider, the spin-off series focuses on the Hoffmans' two crews as they work toward the same goal of collecting 1,000 ounces of gold, which equates to roughly $2 million USD. Todd Hoffman intends to use this money to pay off a debt totaling $750,000. As of July, the miners had only uncovered 284 ounces of the precious metal.

"Hoffman Family Gold" is a spin-off of Discovery's reality television series "Gold Rush," which documents the work of several family-run mines mostly located in Alaska and the Klondike region of Dawson City, Yukon, Canada. "Gold Rush" is currently on its 14th season, which premiered on September 29 and followed the mining crews of Parker Schnabel, Tony Beets, and Rick Ness.

Season 2 of "Hoffman Family Gold" saw the rush between Todd Hoffman's pipe Holy Roller and Hunter Hoffman's Black Pearl to be the first to collect 1,000 ounces of gold. In an exclusive clip shared by TV Insider on July 18 of Season 2, Episode 6 "Burst World Problems," Hunter ran his Black Pearl through the night in an attempt to get ahead of his father. However, running for a consistent 12 hours caused significant damage to Hunter's waterline in the form of a 3-foot-long gash in the side of the pipe.

"I wasn't paying attention," Hunter said in the clip. "We just got in a hurry and I made a mistake." Without any water able to run through the pipe, the plant was forced to shut down, causing a daily loss of $30,000 in gold. This mistake may not be surprising for some fans of the show, as audiences have previously criticized the Hoffmans on "Gold Rush" for their mining skills. By the time the season ended, the Hoffmans had accumulated 1022 ounces of gold, just crossing their 1000-ounce goal. 

Todd Hoffman has appeared throughout the "Gold Rush" franchise since its first season, which premiered as "Gold Rush: Alaska" in 2010. He continued to appear on the series as a main character until Season 8. Hoffman was also featured in several "Gold Rush" spin-offs, including "Gold Rush: The Jungle," filmed in South America between Seasons 2 and 3 of "Gold Rush," and "Gold Rush: South America," filmed between Seasons 3 and 4. 

"Hoffman Family Gold" marks Hoffman's return to gold mining for the first time since he chose not to return to "Gold Rush" for Season 8. But, why did Todd Hoffman leave "Gold Rush" in the first place? In an interview with Oregon Live, Hoffman explained, "You get to this point where you look at your situation, and think, I need a few years with my kids, to be at home, plus you've been on this thing for so many years."

In the same interview, Hoffman said, "I would never go back to 'Gold Rush,'" explaining that he believes "Hoffman Family Gold" is the next evolution of the series. "If you love 'Gold Rush,' you're probably going to like 'Hoffman Family Gold,'" he said.