NEW gritty BBC drama The North Water is set to have viewers hooked.
Based on the acclaimed novel by Ian McGuire, the five-part series tells the story of Patrick Sumner (Jack O’Connell), a disgraced ex-army surgeon who signs up as ship’s doctor on a whaling expedition to the Arctic.
Filming primarily took place in the Arctic, which is where the series is set.
Shooting took place on the frozen seas north of the Svalbard Archipelago.
The cast and crew were said to have travelled as far as 81 degrees north to film scenes – which is, according to the BBC, the furthest point north a drama series has ever filmed.
The Arctic was used for all interior shoots for the gritty series.
The main exterior shots were actually filmed in a studio.
For this the cast and crew shot in Basingstoke.
They also filmed some scenes in Budapest.
The North Water features an all-star cast including Jack O’Connell as Patrick Sumner, Colin Farrell as Henry Drax, and Stephen Graham as Captain Brownlee.
Jack told The Guardian: “The experience was amazing – the constant awareness of the threat of polar bears, occasional visits from walruses popping up from under the ice. It made for something altogether unforgettable.”
Stephen told the BBC: “Filming on the ship was an incredible experience and one that I will never forget. To be so privileged to see such beautiful animals like polar bears in their natural habitat – albeit it an ever changing one, sadly – was truly remarkable.”
Colin told the Radio Times that filming the series in the arctic was life changing.
Speaking to the outlet he said: “There was just this emptiness and this loneliness to the place that was very beautiful and very honest. It wasn’t the kind of loneliness that we can experience in the cities..
“This was the loneliness of when you hear people talk about human insignificance in the face of nature and the brutality of nature, the beauty of nature, the vastness of the scope of it – it was very much that every single day.”
A disgraced ex-army surgeon signs up as ship’s doctor on a whaling expedition to the Arctic.
On board he meets a harpooner, a brutish killer whose amorality has been shaped to fit the harshness of his world.
Hoping to escape the horrors of his past, he finds himself on an ill-fated journey with a murderous psychopath.
The North Water will kick off on BBC Two TOMORROW (September 10, 2021) at 9.30pm.
Episodes will then be shown weekly on the channel on Friday evenings.
If you want to binge the series, all episodes will become available on BBC iPlayer streaming service after the first episode airs.
