Staff Reporter | On 25, Mar 2021

Amazon Prime Video has unveiled its star-studded cast for The Rig, with Iain Glen, Martin Compston and Mark Bonnar leading the ensemble.

The six-part thriller follows a group of workers on a remote oil rig who are due to return to the mainland when an eerie fog descends, and a mysterious force begins to take hold.

Iain Glen (Game of Thrones, Mrs Wilson) plays Magnus MacMillan, Offshore Installation Manager of the rig and leader of the crew, Emily Hampshire (Schitt’s Creek) plays Rose Mason the scientist and oil company rep, a fresh face on-board the rig.

Martin Compston (Line of Duty, Traces) plays Communications Officer Fulmer Hamilton. Rochenda Sandall (Criminal: UK, Small Axe) plays Medic Cat Braithwaite. Owen Teale (Game of Thrones, A Discovery of Witches) is Head Driller Lars Hutton. Richard Pepple (Bridgerton, Cobra) is crew boss Grant Dunlin and Mark Bonnar (Guilt, Quiz) is Deck Foreman Alwyn Evans.

Calvin Demba (Life, Last Christmas) plays Drill Hand Baz Roberts, Emun Elliott (Guilt) is rig mechanic Leck Longman. Abraham Popoola (Cruella) is rig crane driver Easter Ayodeji, Stuart McQuarrie (Des) is Head Chef Colin Murchison and Molly Vevers (The Spanish Princess) plays roustabout Heather Shaw.

Magnus and his crew aboard the Kinloch Bravo oil rig are stationed off the Scottish coast in the dangerous waters of the North Sea. When they are due to be collected and return to the mainland a mysterious and all-enveloping fog rolls through. The rig is hit by massive tremors, and they find themselves cut off from all communication with the shore and the outside world. As the crew endeavour to discover what’s driving this unknown force, a major accident forces them to ask questions about who they can really trust. Bonds are broken, allegiances formed and generational fault lines exposed. The crew of the Bravo will be driven to the limits of both their loyalties and their endurance, into a confrontation with forces beyond their imagination.

Produced by Wild Mercury Productions (part of Banijay UK), created by David Macpherson and directed by John Strickland (Line of Duty, Bodyguard), the series is set to film in Scotland later this month on an oil rig and at FirstStage Studios in Edinburgh.

 

Amazon orders supernatural thriller The Rig

6th November 2020

Amazon has ordered a new supernatural thriller The Rig from Wild Mercury Productions.

Directed by John Strickland (Line of Duty, Bodyguard) and written by David Macpherson, the six-part series follows a group of workers on a remote oil rig who are due to return to the mainland when an eerie fog descends, and a mysterious force begins to take hold. It is the first Amazon Original Series filmed exclusively in Scotland, joining other US originals such as Good Omens, The Grand Tour and Truth Seekers.

The crew of the Kishorn Bravo oil rig are 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 crew of the Bravo will be driven to the limits of both their loyalties and their endurance, into a confrontation with forces beyond their imagination.

“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.”

Executive producers include Strickland and Derek Wax (Humans, Capital, Troy, Fall of a City), the producer is Suzanne Reid (Trust Me, Curfew) and the casting director is Kelly Valentine-Hendry (Broadchurch, Fleabag). Joining the writing team are Meg Salter and Matthew Jacobs Morgan.

Production on an oil rid and at FirstStage Studios, the new Scottish film and TV studio space in Edinburgh, will start next year.

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