‘The North Water’ trailer: Colin Farrell stars in 1850s Arctic drama series

The first trailer has been released for the long-awaited adaptation of The North Water.

Based on Ian McGuire’s critically acclaimed 2016 novel, the mini-series is set in the ice floes of the Arctic in the late 1850s.

The BBC’s upcoming five-part mini-series started shooting nearly two years ago.

Location filming took place primarily in the Arctic, with the cast and crew sailing as far as 81 degrees north to shoot scenes in the pack ice.

Described as a “gripping and original story of murder, mystery and survival,” it comes from the makers of the acclaimed Top of the Lake.

The North Water is set to air in the UK later this year on BBC Two and on BBC iPlayer.

However, it’ll receive its premiere this week in the US, making its debut on AMC+ on Thursday 15th July.

The official synopsis reads: “The North Water tells the story of Patrick Sumner, a disgraced ex-army surgeon who signs up as ship’s doctor on a whaling expedition to the Arctic.

“On board he meets Henry Drax, the harpooner, a brutish killer whose amorality has been shaped to fit the harshness of his world.

“Hoping to escape the horrors of his past, Sumner finds himself on an ill-fated journey with a murderous psychopath. In search of redemption, his story becomes a harsh struggle for survival in the Arctic wasteland.”

Watch the trailer:

 

Leading the cast are Colin Farrell (Saving Mr Banks) and Jack O’Connell (Godless).

They’re joined by Tom Courtenay (The Aeronauts), Peter Mullan (Top of the Lake), Sam Spruell (Outlaw King), Roland Møller (Atomic Blonde), Philip Hill-Pearson (The Bay), and Kieran Urquhart (Vera).

The North Water has been adapted by writer and director Andrew Haigh (45 Years, Weekend).

Haigh commented back in 2017: “The novel by Ian McGuire is a darkly brilliant piece of work, propelled by a vision of the world that is both beautiful and brutal. It feels bracingly modern and is piercingly perceptive about the nature of what drives us all.”

Ian McGuire’s novel The North Water is available on Amazon.