Sophie Turner & Archie Madekwe to Star In Prime Video Heist Series 'Haven'
Archie Madekwe in "Salburn" // Sophie Turne in "Game of Thrones"
(Photo: Prime Video // Helen Sloan/HBO)
As we all know, crime dramas are a dime a dozen in the world of British entertainment these days, but one subset of these shows — the heist series — is steadily gaining in popularity. Thanks to recent series like Money Heist, Lupin, and The Gold (or perennial British hit Hustle if you want to look back a little further), the question isn’t so much whodunnit but how will they get away with it. And now Prime Video is getting into the act, tapping a trio of buzzy actors to lead its forthcoming drama Haven (working title), described as a “contemporary, high-octane thriller about the heist of the century.”
Promising complex plotting and lots of twists, Haven will star Sophie Turner (Joan) as Zara, an office worker at a pension fund investment company who finds herself unwillingly made part of an elaborate crime when a gang of violent thieves burst into her place of work, demanding she help them steal billions from the accounts of ordinary people. Saltburn favorite Archie Madekwe is Zara’s best friend, Luke, while Jacob Fortune-Lloyd (Bodies) plays DCI Rhys, a detective with a relapsed gambling problem who must keep his money problems under control as he’s assigned to investigate this sweeping financial crime.
“This attention-grabbing series, written by S.A. Nikias, is a uniquely thrilling ride and serves as an ideal addition to round out our Pan-English slate implemented by Rola Bauer and her team,” Vernon Sanders, Head of Television for Amazon MGM Studios, said in a statement. “Haven, shepherded by the fantastic team at Drama Republic, with the wonderful Sam Miller set to direct and starring the incredibly talented Sophie Turner, Jacob Fortune-Lloyd, and Archie Madekwe, has all the ingredients for a gripping, addictive, entertaining story for our global customers to enjoy.”
Sophie Turner in "Joan"
(Photo; CW)
Here's the series' description.
Haven is a contemporary, high-octane thriller about the heist of the century and the ordinary office worker, Zara, who finds herself at the heart of it. A typical work day at a pension fund investment company, Lochmill Capital, is upended when a gang of violent thieves burst in and force Zara and her best mate Luke to execute their demands. But who would steal billions of pounds of ordinary people’s pensions and why? DCI Rhys is determined to find out, but as a recently relapsed gambling addict, Rhys must keep his own money problems at bay while dealing with the secret agendas and competing interests at the center of this far-reaching crime.
The series hails from U.K. production company Drama Republic, the group behind Netflix's hit adaptation of One Day. In his television screenwriting debut, Haven is written by crime author S.A. Nikias, with A Gentleman in Moscow's Sam Miller directing its first three episodes.
“When we asked first-time TV screenwriter Sotiris Nikias if he'd like to have a go at writing a thriller we were astonished by the results," Drama Republic's Rebecca de Souza (The Confessions of Frannie Langton) and Greg Brenman (The English) said. "His rollercoasting, nail-biting, and funny scripts have quite rightly attracted a tremendous cast and top-tier creative team. We couldn't be more delighted,”
Haven will premiere globally on Prime Video, but the streamer has yet to announce a release window for the show.
