Phil Gurin’s TGC Global Entertainment has added Hunan TV’s “Gold Rush” to its international catalogue in a deal confirmed at MIPCOM this morning during a showcase for the entrepreneurial/business reality show. The agreement is a first for Gurin’s two-year-old distribution unit.

“Gold Rush” sets out to unearth the next generation of game-changing innovators among university students in rounds that involve peer as well as investor pitching.

Hunan TV vice president, Wang Tian, said this morning that the platform was working on a second season that would involve students worldwide.

The 12-episode season one, which aired on Hunan TV in March this year, ranked #1 in its Sunday prime time slot for 12 consecutive weeks and generated more than 2.3 billion views across online platforms, the partners said during the showcase. The series also streamed on Hunan TV’s Mango TV.

Gurin said the appeal of “Gold Rush” was the character journey for the young contestants. “Formats are my life, and I thought the way they developed the storytelling for the students was interesting and unique… really special”.

“I also love the idea of trying to reach a younger audience with a show like this… unlike other business shows, you go on a journey with them,” he said.