BBC America to Co-Produce New Dramaville Series - "Ripper Street"
Ripper Street has begun filming on location in Dublin
BBC AMERICA is co-producing an extraordinary new crime series, Ripper Street, to premiere as part of BBC AMERICA's Dramaville this fall. Filming has started on location in Dublin from March 12. The eight part series, created by Richard Warlow, set in and around Whitechapel in London's East End in 1889, during the aftermath of the Jack The Ripper murders.
Ripper Street will star Matthew Macfadyen (MI-5, Pride and Prejudice), Jerome Flynn (Game of Thrones), Adam Rothenberg (Alcatraz), Myanna Buring (The Twilight Saga, White Heat) and David Dawson (Luther, Secret Diary of a Call Girl). The action centers on the notorious H Division, which is charged with keeping order in the chaotic streets of East London.
Ripper Street is produced for the BBC by Tiger Aspect Productions, Lookout Point and BBC AMERICA. The project is Executive Produced by Greg Brenman and Will Gould at Tiger Aspect and by Simon Vaughan at Lookout Point. The series was commissioned by BBC Head of Drama, Ben Stephenson and Danny Cohen. Polly Hill is Executive Producer for BBC1.
Ripper Street is being made with the participation of Bord Scannén na hÉireann/Irish Film Board. BBC Worldwide is distributing the series globally.
BBC AMERICA's SVP of Programming, Richard De Croce said: "We're thrilled that Ripper Street is coming to our channel as part of Dramaville, the home of outstanding British drama. To this day, audiences continue to be fascinated by Jack The Ripper and the events in Whitechapel in the late 19th Century. This script and cast are going to take us for a great ride. We're excited to be involved in such an ambitious production with Tiger Aspect and Lookout Point."
Tiger Aspect's Head of Drama Greg Brenman added, "We are so excited to have started production and be seeing these glorious scripts by Richard Warlow come to life. There is so much zest and urgency in Ripper Street that I honestly believe we're helping re-define the accepted notion of British period drama."
Simon Vaughan, who came up with the concept for the show and who, with BBC Worldwide, has brokered the deal with BBC AMERICA said, "The hunt for Jack The Ripper was the first ever global media man hunt - and somehow still stirs a macabre fascination in the public more than 120 years later. This is an iconic subject and we are delighted to be producing this as a UK/US co-production allowing us to deliver major production values and make a very ambitious series."
James Hickey, Chief Executive, Bord Scannén na hÉireann/the Irish Film Board said: "We are delighted that Ripper Street is filming on location in Ireland. We very much welcome the opportunity this major drama series will give to Irish talent both in front of and behind the camera."
The filming of Ripper Street will continue until late July.