Based on Ian McGuire’s best-selling novel, The North Water is adapted and directed by Andrew Haigh and stars Jack O’Connell, Colin Farrell and Stephen Graham.
The story is set in Hull, England and in the Arctic in the late 1850s and follows Patrick Sumner (O’Connell) a disgraced ex-army surgeon who signs up as a ship’s doctor on a whaling expedition to the Arctic.
Sumner quickly realizes he’s gotten himself in with a rough sort and particularly Henry Drax (Farrell), a harpooner who’s as violent off hours as he is at work. As the expedition’s true purpose reveals itself, confrontation between the polar opposites erupts, taking them far past civilization and into the frozen wilds where they have to survive both nature and each other.
Produced by See-Saw Films and Rhombus Media, production largely took place in the Arctic, shooting on the frozen seas north of the Svalbard Archipelago.
The five-part limited series is distributed internationally by BBC Studios. It premieres on AMC+ on Thursday, July 15 with episodes dropping each Thursday through August 12. The North Water debuts in the UK on BBC Two this fall.