Amber Valletta stars in “Blood & Oil”

The expansive Bakken Formation, a subsurface area of oil-rich stone covering parts of Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Montana and North and South Dakota, was initially discovered in 1953, but efforts to exploit the resource have been hampered by technical challenges. When the more accessible Parshall Oil Field was discovered in North Dakota in 2006, it ushered in an age of growth and prosperity for the state. Between 2007 and 2015, North Dakota rose from the eighth-largest producer of oil in the U.S. to second, with only Texas generating more barrels of the black gold.

Touted as a modern-day gold rush, the swift expansion drew countless fortune seekers looking to take advantage of the boom, and ABC is using this manic period as the backdrop for its new series, "Blood & Oil." Following a young couple that moves to the oil fields in the midst of the discovery, the show explores the highs and lows of the sudden, massive expansion. "Blood & Oil" premieres Sunday, Sept. 27, on ABC.

Starring as young married couple Billy and Cody Lefever are Chace Crawford, who was starring in "Gossip Girl" when the real boom was kicking off, and Rebecca Rittenhouse, a relative newcomer known for her role in the short-lived "Red Band Society." Together, they move from their small Florida town to the fictional Rock Springs, North Dakota, with the intention of opening a laundromat to take advantage of the growing population.

Soon after, however, Billy becomes enamored with the potential wealth they are surrounded by and makes a bid to cash in on the oil boom. In his rush to capitalize on the economic situation, the young man runs afoul of established tycoon Hap Briggs (Don Johnson, "Miami Vice") and his wife, Carla (Amber Valletta, "Dead Silence," 2007).

Hap and Carla are determined to build a legacy from the raw riches of the Bakken Formation, and are in the process of procuring more land when Billy stumbles into their way. As Billy's ambition pushes him into further conflict with the power couple, Cody begins to doubt her husband and their commitment to each other.

The Briggs' son, Wick (Scott Michael Foster, "Chasing Life"), has his own issues with his father, despite being the heir to the empire and fortune Hap is amassing. Neither is afraid to go over the line to get what they want, but Wick is willing to go far beyond even Hap's boundaries. The younger Briggs is involved with the town's bar owner, Jules (India be Beaufort, "Jane by Design"), who is similarly lax about rules and conventions that hinder her ambitions.

Trying to keep blood feuds and bad deals from tearing his town apart is sheriff Tip Hamilton (Delroy Lindo, "Kidnapped"). Faced with high emotions, high stakes and a population that is growing disproportionately, it will take everything Tip has to maintain order in the boom town.

Amber Valletta and Don Johnson as seen in “Blood & Oil”

The University of North Dakota Center for Innovation Foundation estimated in 2012 that some 2,000 millionaires were created each year in the state as a direct result of the boom, with some mineral rights owners raking in upwards of $50,000 to $100,000 per month in royalties. Both the federal and state governments hold mineral rights in the region, which they lease out through a bidding process. Between taxes and mineral rights, North Dakota has amassed a billion-dollar surplus from the boom.

But, of course, oil is an inherently unstable resource, with prices that are out of the control of drilling companies and which can fluctuate wildly from week to week. If "Blood & Oil" follows the historical events and market data of the time, we can make some assumptions about future plotlines.

At the start of the boom, prices averaged between $60 and $70 per barrel. These prices peaked at $140 in mid-2008, but it didn't take long for heavily invested firms to see their profit margins contract, as prices plummeted to just over $40 a barrel, coinciding with the Great Recession. With an average break-even price of $62 a barrel across the Bakken Formation -- less labor-intensive areas such as the Parshall field break even as low as $38 a barrel -- dips in the market value of oil had -- and continue to have -- a severe impact on the success of companies that invested in extraction.

In a news release, ABC revealed that the show will ride "up the boom and eventual bust, and back up again." Viewers, it seems, can expect the drama to intensify as the characters ride the economic roller coaster of the time. 

It will be interesting to see how the Lefevers and the Briggs react to changing market values -- and how their enterprises and relationships will be impacted. It is unusual for a network program to explore such a contemporary period, an intriguing quality that leaves the door open for plot lines to change as real-life events unfold. Get a look at a growing town during the height of the oil boom, and try not to get too dirty when "Blood & Oil" premieres on Sunday, Sept. 27, on ABC.