BritBox Releases First Look at Dark Comedy Thriller 'Passenger'

BritBox has confirmed that the new ITV series, Passenger, will stream on its service here in the U.S. come 2024. Despite the name, the series should not be confused with the other U.K. TV series Passengers (plural), which ran on Channel 4 in the 1990s and then was revived for a time in the early aughts. That was a reality series exploring youth culture and famous for introducing the world to Ewan McGregor pre-Trainspotting. This is a brand new drama series, billed as a "dark comedy thriller" about a small community that insists on ignoring the strange occurrences among its residents.

The series was first announced as a joint production between BritBox International and ITV in March 2022, when ITV revealed it had picked up the debut script from actor-turned-screenwriter Andrew Buchan. Buchan is best known in the U.S. for his turn in Broadchurch, and Passengers' synopsis has a few shades of that hit series, though, at the time, it was billed more as a horror series than a comedy. It was the second series ITV picked up that year from actors turning to screenwriting, with Suranne Jones' debut project, the family drama Maryland, announced only a few months before. (Maryland recently aired on ITVX in May 2023.)

Production on the series began in February 2023, with casting announced just as filming commenced in Cornholme, North of Manchester. Wunmi Mosaku (Luther) was announced as the series lead, retired detective Riya Ajunwa, a significant get as she was coming off the one-two punch of starring in the critically acclaimed Lovecraft Country and Disney+ hit series Loki, one of the only Marvel series to earn a second season. Her co-stars were revealed to be David Threlfall (Dodger) as suspect Jim Bracknell and Rowan Robinson (So Awkward) as victim Katie Wells. Check out the first looks at both characters below.