Amazon announces "heart-grabbing" supernatural thriller series The Rig

When a great fog rolls in just as the workers on a remote Scottish oil rig are about to return to the mainland, the alarm bells should be ringing in brand-new Amazon drama The Rig.

The streaming network has just announced the six-part supernatural series will be its first-ever Amazon Originals production filmed completely in Scotland and it reads like a thrill-fest.

According to Deadline, The Rig is set onboard the Kishorn Bravo oil rig, stationed off the Scottish coast in the North Sea.

As the crew prepare to return to the mainland, a thick, blanketing fog cancels those plans and it soon appears the fog is much more than a simple meteorological event. They are soon cut off from the outside world and their relationships and bonds are put to the test and deadly new rivalries are created as they try to understand and fight the mysterious force.

John Strickland, the director of The Bodyguard and Line of Duty, will helm The Rig, which has been written by David Macpherson and will be produced by Wild Mercury Productions, the company behind Humans season three.

European Amazon Originals director Georgia Brown 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.”

Wild Mercury Productions managing director Derek Wax 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."

Cast is currently being confirmed for the series but a tentative premiere date has not been announced.

It will be interesting to see how The Rig compares with BBC One's Scottish thriller series, Vigil, starring Suranne Jones, about a murder mystery on board a Trident submarine.

While you’re waiting visit our TV Guide to see what’s on tonight, or check out our guide to new TV shows 2020 to find out what's airing this autumn and beyond.