A new Amazon Original thriller set on a remote oil rig is to be filmed exclusively in Scotland.
The Rig, a six-part series, follows a group of workers who are due to return to the mainland when an eerie fog descends and a mysterious force begins to take hold.
It will be the first Amazon Original Series shot exclusively in Scotland – on an oil rig and at FirstStage Studios, the new Scottish film and TV studio space in Edinburgh.
Oscar-nominated producer Bob Last and actor and director Jason Connery, son of the late Sir Sean Connery, were appointed to run the 8.6-acre facility at the Port of Leith in March.
READ MORE: Five great Scottish film locations worth visiting
The thriller has been created by new writer David Macpherson and will be directed by John Strickland, known for Line of Duty and Bodyguard.
Georgia Brown, director of European Amazon Originals for Prime Video, said: “The Rig is a brilliant story, expertly told, in the most dramatic of settings.
“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.”
READ MORE: The unlikely saviour of TV and film in Scotland… coronavirus
The Rig follows the crew of the Kishorn Bravo oil rig, stationed off the Scottish coast in 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.
The series will be produced by Wild Mercury Productions, with production due to start next year.
Derek Wax, managing director of Wild Mercury Productions, 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 series will launch exclusively on Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here