Amazon's 'The Rig' Finally Sets a Release Date

Amazon originally greenlit The Rig, a supernatural thriller, back in the doldrums of the 2020 lockdowns. At the time, it was the first commissioned series planned to be filmed entirely in Scotland, with Amazon utilizing the brand new FirstStage Studios, a film and TV studio space in Edinburgh which had only just been finished. Conceived of and written by newcomer David Macpherson, the series was pushed as having landed director John Strickland, who's work includes the face paced thrillers Line Of Duty and Bodyguard, who would helm all six episodes. 

The series began filming in early 2021 with an international cast including Iain Glen (Mrs. Wilson) and Martin Compston, who has been part of the foundational cast for Line of Duty since it premeired, along with American comedian Emily Hampshire (Schitt's Creek) in a chance to play a role outside of the type of thing audiences were expecting. Amazon dropped a first look photo in September 2021 after filming wrapped, but with little else to go on, it seemed best to wait and see what else was coming.

That was over a year ago. Since then, The Rig has been AWOL from the Prime Video lineup, to the point that it seemed like it might have been buried. But then, out of seemingly nowhere, Amazon Prime Video UK dropped a trailer for the series at the end of November 2022, along with a worldwide release date for all six episodes as a buinge drop in just over a month's time. 

Here's the series synopsis, which has not been updated or changed since mid-2021:

The Rig follows the crew of the Kinloch Bravo oil rig stationed off the Scottish coast in the dangerous waters of the North Sea. When they are due to be collected and return to the mainland, a mysterious and all-enveloping fog rolls through. The rig is hit by massive tremors, and they find themselves cut off from all communication with the shore and the outside world. Soon, the crew will be driven to the limits of both their loyalties and their endurance into a confrontation with forces beyond their imagination.

Hampshire plays Rose Mason, a representative from the oil company and a scientist, which seems like a conflict of interest from the get-go. Glen co-stars as Magnus MacMillan, the offshore installation manager and the leader of the crew on the rig, while Compston is the communications officer, Fulmer Hamilton. Mark Bonnar (Guilt) is also listed as a primary lead as deck foreman Alwyn Evans.

Despite Glen and Hampshire being billed as co-leads, the first-look photos have all focused more on Compston's character, leading most trades to list this as his project. The co-stars joining this trio (plus Bonnar) are a murderer's row of talent. They include Rochenda Sandall (Doctor Who), Owen Teale (Game Of Thrones), Richard Pepple (Bridgerton), Calvin Demba (Professor T), Emun Elliott (The Paradise), Abraham Popoola (The Great), Stuart McQuarrie (The Crown), and Molly Vevers (The Spanish Princess). That's quite a who's who for a project Amazon seems to have completely lost the thread on trying to promote. 

All six episodes of The Rig arrive on Amazon on Friday, January 6, 2023.