Fenn’s treasure hunt being made into television pilot

The thrill of the chase has lured treasure seekers from across the country. Now television producers hope it enraptures viewers the same way.

A pilot about the treasure hunt originated by Santa Fe art dealer and author Forrest Fenn has been ordered by Fox, the Hollywood news site Deadline reported.

The hourlong drama, Forrest’s Treasure, will follow a family that moves to Montana and finds meaning in the search for treasure Fenn has said he hid somewhere in the Rocky Mountains.

Fox ordered a “put pilot,” Deadline reported, meaning the network has committed to at least the first episode of the series and likely a full-season run.

Veteran television writer and producer Elwood Reid is set to write, and Joseph McGinty Nichol, known as McG, is attached as director.

Fenn launched the treasure hunt in 2010 with a poem that purports to clue readers in to the location of a chest filled with gold coins and jewelry he claims to have hidden somewhere in the Mountain West.

The treasure hunt has since become a phenomenon and a controversy, as at least four people have died seeking the chest. After a Colorado pastor’s body was found last year, the New Mexico State Police chief called on Fenn to retrieve the treasure and end the hunt. Fenn said he would not.

Fenn on Thursday said he had read about the Fox pilot but had not been contacted by producers.