BBC reveals trailer and UK start date for 1850s Arctic drama ‘The North Water’

The North Water will finally premiere in the UK next month and we’ve got a brand new trailer.

The BBC’s five-part adaptation of Ian McGuire’s critically acclaimed 2016 novel was first announced way back in 2017 and filming began in 2019.

From the makers of Top of the Lake, the epic mini-series is set in the ice floes of the Arctic in the late 1850s.

The cast of this “gripping and original story of murder, mystery and survival” is led by 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).

Watch the new trailer:

 

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

“But the ferocity of the elements is matched by the violence of his crew mates, with Drax (Farrell), a harpooner and distinctly brutal force of nature.

“As the true purpose of the expedition becomes clear, confrontation between the two men erupts, taking them on a journey far from solid ground and beyond the safe moorings of civilisation.”

The North Water premiered in the US on AMC+ in July, receiving brilliant reviews.

We can now confirm that the series will launch in the UK at 9.30pm on Friday 10th September on BBC Two.

All five episodes will then be available to watch as a box set on BBC iPlayer, as well as airing weekly on BBC Two.

Location filming on The North Water took place primarily in the Arctic, shooting on the frozen seas north of the Svalbard Archipelago.

The show’s cast and crew sailed as far as 81 degrees north to film sequences in the pack ice, which is believed to be the furthest point north a drama series has ever been filmed!

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