The Rig: Emily Hampshire of Schitt’s Creek stars in Amazon thriller series

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

Last November, we heard that Amazon had ordered a supernatural thriller series called The Rig, with John Strickland set to direct the six-part show from scripts by Meg Salter, Matthew Jacobs Morgan, and series creator David Macpherson. Production on The Rig is set to begin on an oil rig in Scotland later this month, with filming also scheduled to take place at FirstStage Studios in Edinburgh, and with the start date approaching the names of several cast members have been announced.

The Rig is set on 

the Kishorn Bravo oil rig, stationed off the Scottish coast in the dangerous waters of the North Sea. When the crew is 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 the rig is hit by massive tremors, the crew endeavor to discover what’s driving the unknown force. But a major accident forces them to ask questions about who they can really trust.

Emily Hampshire of Schitt's Creek has signed on to play the co-lead Rose Mason, "the scientist and oil company rep, a fresh face on-board the rig". She is joined in the cast by Iain Glen as the other lead character, Magnus MacMillan, "the offshore installation manager of the rig and leader of the crew".

Also on board are Martin Compston as communications officer Fulmer Hamilton, Mark Bonnar as deck foreman Alwyn Evans, Rochenda Sandall as medic Cat Braithwaite, Owen Teale as head driller Lars Hutton, Richard Pepple as crew boss Grant Dunlin, Calvin Demba as drill hand Baz Roberts, Emun Elliott as rig mechanic Leck Longman, Abraham Popoola as rig crane driver Easter Ayodeji, Stuart McQuarrie as head chef Colin Murchison, and Molly Vevers as roustabout Heather Shaw.

The Rig is being produced by Wild Mercury Productions. Strickland will be executive producing the show with Derek Wax. Suzanne Reid serves as producer.

As I said when The Rig was announced, the synopsis makes me think of Stephen King's The Mist and John Carpenter's The Fog and The Thing, so I'm looking forward to seeing how this turns out.