Prime Video unveils new UK series The Rig
November 3, 2020
By Nik Roseveare
Amazon Prime Video has confirmed a new UK produced Amazon Original series titled The Rig. The six-part thriller will be produced by Wild Mercury Productions (part of Banijay UK), created by new writer David Macpherson and directed by John Strickland (Line of Duty, Bodyguard.
The Rig follows the crew of the Kishorn Bravo oil rig, stationed off the Scottish coast in the dangerous waters of the North Sea. When the crew are due to return to the mainland, a mysterious and all-enveloping fog rolls through and they find themselves cut off from all communication with the shore and the outside world. As they endeavour to discover what’s driving this force, bonds are broken, allegiances formed and generational fault lines exposed.
The Rig will be the first Amazon Original Series filmed exclusively in Scotland, on an oil rig and at FirstStage Studios, the new Scottish film and TV studio space in Edinburgh. Production will start on the series next year.
“The Rig is a brilliant story, expertly told, in the most dramatic of settings” said Georgia Brown, Director of European Amazon Originals for Prime Video. “It asks searching questions about nature and the environment, about what it takes to survive and to be human, which feels very pertinent to the world we are living in now. We’re delighted to add this to our growing roster of UK made Amazon Original shows, all available to stream at no extra cost for Prime members around the world.”
Derek Wax, Managing Director of Wild Mercury, added “The Rig is a character-driven, epic thriller, full of heart-grabbing action and bold, original ideas, and we are delighted to be working with Amazon Prime Video in bringing it to life. David Macpherson captures life on a North Sea oil rig with extraordinary authenticity and it’s been exciting to work with him, director John Strickland and our creative team in realising the scale and vision of this world. “
The series will launch exclusively on Prime Video in over 240 countries and territories on a date TBC.