'Boat Story' Will Set Sail on Amazon Freevee In March

If you're an Anglophile who isn't yet familiar with the concept of FAST channels, it's probably time to start doing some research. FAST stands for Free Ad-supported Streaming Television, essentially what we old folks remember as "regular television," only it's now available on your favorite local streaming service. And while many of these platforms, like Tubi, The Roku Channel, and Pluto TV are already useful destinations for niche programming and reruns of old favorites —Pluto has a rather fantastic channel dedicated solely to classic Doctor Who — they're all starting to bring over new original content too. 

The Roku Channel brought Paramount+'s recent U.K. original The Burning Girls to American shores with surprisingly little fanfare, while Amazon Freevee did much the same with the Jessica Brown Findlay comedy The Flatshare. However, Prime Video seems determined to avoid its previous mistakes with its second FAST exclusive, and has already announced that BBC thriller Boat Story will officially be arriving on Freevee in March. 

The series stars Paterson Joseph (Vigil) and Daisy Haggard (Breeders) as two strangers who stumble upon a shipwrecked boat that just happens to be full of cocaine. Upon discovering a haul that's worth the kind of money that could easily change both their lives, they agree to sell the drugs and split the cash, each hoping to start over with their unexpected windfall. Unsurprisingly, nothing about this plan goes as easily or as smoothly as expected, and the two find themselves on the run from the police, masked hitmen, and a mysterious (and well-dressed) gangster. 

Here's the series synopsis. 

Boat Story follows two strangers, Janet and Samuel, who can't believe their luck when they stumble upon a shipwrecked boat full of cocaine. With each of them desperate for a fresh start, they agree to sell the drugs and split the cash. But on their tail are the police, masked hit men, and a sharp-suited gangster known only as “The Tailor.” When two ordinary people are pushed to the very edge, can they trust each other and get away with their lives and money?

Alongside Joseph and Haggard, the series ensemble cast also includes Tcheky Karyo (The Missing), Joanna Scanlan (The Larkins), Craig Fairbrass (A Violent Man), and Phil Daniels (House of the Dragon).

Boat Story is written and created by Harry and Jack Williams (Baptiste). The duo also directed the series' first two episodes with Alice Troughton (The Midwich Cuckoos) helming its third and fourth installments, and Daniel Nettheim (Line of Duty) taking over for the final pair. The Williams brothers also serve as executive producers, alongside Christopher Aird (Liar), Sarah Hammond (Fleabag), and Daniel Walker for Two Brothers Pictures, with Tommy Bulfin and Nawfal Faizullah as executive producers for the BBC. Matthew Bird (Strangers) is producer. 

"It’s a morality tale and a thriller and other things that make it hard to define even though we seem to be attempting to define it," the Williams brothers said in a statement when the series was originally announced. :It’s full of vulnerable, messed up, and eccentric characters and we’ve cast some of our favorite actors to play them."

Boat Story will premiere on March 12 on Amazon Freevee.