[2] The show premiered on December 21, 2012, and was produced by Committee Films of Minneapolis, Minnesota.

[3] The program was hosted by Minnesota-based geologist Scott Wolter, who investigates mysteries and artifacts believed to reveal an alternative history of the North American continent before the United States.

[9] In September 2009, History Channel aired the two-hour special "Holy Grail in America", produced by Committee Films,[3][9] which follows Scott Wolter as he explores the idea that the Kensington Runestone is evidence that the Knights Templar sailed to America about one hundred years before Columbus's voyage.

[9] Reviewer Paul Mavis characterized "Holy Grail in America" as enjoyable pseudoscientific entertainment in the tradition of the 1970s television series In Search of.... Mavis noted that, "tellingly, the doc never presents any other geologists who have alternative theories about Wolter's findings" but concluded, "who cares if it's true or not?

[11] The program was a success for the network, becoming "the #1 series of all time on H2" and was subsequently approved for a second season[12] with production starting in early 2013.