DIVING INTO MURDER:
Thriller “Vigil” offers unique genre mix
Submarine-set thriller “Vigil” puts a vulnerable detective heroine deeply in danger.
Making any thriller is tricky, says James Strong. “You have to have a narrative that’s exciting and interesting, and characters that are instantly engaging,” he says. No small task.
But the new 6-episode series “Vigil” presented the show’s creative team — including Simon Heath, CEO of World Productions, and Strong, an executive producer and director on the show — with an extra challenge.
“How do you create a story set on a nuclear submarine, in the middle of the North Atlantic, that is both realistic and visually entertaining?”, says Strong.
Heath had always wanted to do something about the military, and in particular on Britain’s nuclear deterrent. “We want shows that are going to grab an audience’s attention and make people want to sit there and watch to the end,” he says. The result is a crime drama on a British naval submarine. “Vigil” is highly anticipated due to the strength of its filmmakers. World Productions is also behind the acclaimed hits “Bodyguard” and “Line of Duty”; Strong is a Bafta-winning director; and Tom Edge, the creator and executive producer of “Vigil,” comes off “Judy” and “The Crown.”
Vigil’s cast includes BAFTA winner
Suranne Jones (“Doctor Foster”), Rose Leslie (“Game of Thrones,”) Shaun Evans (“Endeavour”), Martin Compston (“Line of Duty”) and Gary Lewis (“His Dark Materials”).
In the series, detective Amy Silva (Jones) is assigned to investigate a suspicious suicide on board a Trident sub. When her assignment extends past the intended 72 hours, she delves into the sunless, isolated world of submariners, then struggles with isolation and loneliness.
Strong explains, “She is both brilliant and the best person for the job as far as anyone can tell. She is also deeply damaged through past trauma.” ɿ