Amazon drama to use new Scottish studio
Major new drama series 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.
The supernatural thriller follows a group of workers on the Kishorn Bravo, a remote oil rig stationed off the Scottish coast in the dangerous waters of the North Sea. The cohort is due to return to the mainland when an eerie fog descends, and a mysterious force begins to take hold.
Created by David Macpherson, directed by John Strickland, the six-part series will be produced by Wild Mercury Productions.
Wild Mercury founder and MD Derek Wax exec produces alongside Strickland; Suzanne Reid is the producer. Filming begins next year; the production is supported by Screen Scotland.
The series marks Macpherson’s first-time commission. Joining him on the writing team are Meg Salter and Matthew Jacobs Morgan.
Wax said; “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 Rig is a brilliant story, expertly told, in the most dramatic of settings” added 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…”
Also on The Knowledge
Production gets underway on Everyone Else Burns S2
Production is due to get underway in the next week in Manchester on the second series of Everyone Else Burns.
C5 greenlights mystery thriller The Wives
Production is underway on a new C5 thriller, The Wives, starring Jo Joyner, Angela Griffin and Tamzin Outhwaite.
Filming underway on Sky’s Lockerbie drama starring Colin Firth
Production has begun on a major new drama about the 1988 Lockerbie bombing, starring Colin Firth as Dr Jim Swire.
Studios Spotlight – Behind the scenes at Pride Media Centre
The last Studios Spotlight of 2023 shines on Pride Media Centre in Gateshead, a “safe, welcoming space for businesses and organisations from the LGBT+ community and allies, to grow, develop and be creative”.
Paramount+ drama The Road Trip films in Bristol
The Road Trip, a shiny new drama for Paramount+, is currently filming in Bristol starring Emma Appleton, Laurie Davidson and David Jonsson.
Studio operator Stage Fifty announces new partnership and plans Spanish expansion
As part of its growth plan, Stage Fifty has announced a new partnership with Universal Production Services which sees the latter become the exclusive lighting and equipment supplier for all Stage Fifty UK and European studios.