'The Rig' Will Descend Further in Season 2's First Images

Ahead of The Rig's initial debut on Amazon Prime Video in January 2023, series creator David Macpherson explained the series as one that was inspired by and acknowledges just how little we know about the waters of our own planet. "The deep ocean contains over 95% of the life-supporting space on our planet, and we still explore it with candlelight. We have no idea how much more there is to see." Even though Season 1 was not exactly a high-profile series for Prime Video here in the U.S., receiving almost no marketing, the producers decided there was more to explore, greenlighting a second season.

Considering Season 1 ended with an evacuation of the titular rig, most had assumed The Rig to be a closed-ended miniseries. Any future season would likely follow the pattern established by Time and Showtrial and be an anthology series with a majority new cast and perhaps one crossover character to link the installments. However, the series has zagged instead of zigged, bringing back all the surviving characters from the first season and adding just enough new names to fill in all the gaps from those who didn't make it.

For those wondering what exactly the show plans to do with these characters, the plot synopsis and the first photos, one of which is a far shot of a helicopter landing on an aircraft carrier, give a good idea of where the thriller plans to head next.

Here's Season 2's synopsis:

Helicopters have taken the surviving crew of the Kinloch Bravo to a new secret offshore facility called the Stac, nestled deep in the extraordinary and deadly landscapes of the Arctic Circle. Here, the trapped crew must deal with the emotional and physical fallout of the devastating tsunami that destroyed the Bravo and contends with swirling conspiracies, corporate conflicts, and new threats from the dark depths of the world’s ocean. 

The second series will continue exploring global themes -  weaving together the planet's past, present, and future while taking the viewer to spectacular environments and drawing on the frontiers of cutting-edge ocean technology - including the controversial world of deep-sea mining. David Macpherson has created a new story that delivers epic thrills and gripping action for a compelling cast of returning and new characters.

Season 2 will bring back stars Iain Glen (Mrs. Wilson), Martin Compston (Line of Duty), Emily Hampshire (Schitt’s Creek), Rochenda Sandall (Hijack), Owen Teale (Game of Thrones), Mark Addy (The Full Monty), Molly Vevers (The Spanish Princess), Abraham Popoola (The Great), Nikhil Parmar (We Live in Time) and Stuart McQuarrie (Shetland). 

Season 2 newcomers to the cast include Ross Anderson (The Last Kingdom), Phil McKee (Deadwater Fell), Jacob Fortune-Lloyd (Bodies), Alice Krige (Agatha Christie's Partners in Crime), and Johannes Roaldsen Fürst (White Boys).

David Macpherson penned season 2 of The Rig with Meg Salter. Director John Strickland (Bodyguard) and Alex Holmes (The Letter for the King) split helming duties across the six episodes. Suzanne Reid is the series producer, and Matt Brown is the co-producer. Macpherson and Strickland executive produce with Derek Wax. The series is produced by Wild Mercury Productions (part of Banijay UK) and filmed in Scotland.

The Rig Season 2 will premiere in January 2025 on Amazon's Prime Video on both sides of the pond.