Hopes high that The Rig will extend to further series

The Edinburgh-based writer of TV hit The Rig has revealed he is making plans for further series of the supernatural thriller filmed and produced in the city.

The second series featuring stars Martin Compston, Iain Glen and Emily Hampshire transported the cast from an oil rig in the North Sea to a new location in the Arctic Circle.

Filmed entirely in the FirstStage studios in Leith, The Rig shot to the top of the Prime Video charts after the second series launched around the world last month.

Now screenwriter David Macpherson has said he is working on new storylines towards an exciting conclusion.

He said: “I would love to keep going. I’ve got secret plans that I’m working on in terms of where the story goes.

“There would be a conclusion. There’s always a danger that you go on a bit too long but I would certainly like to do the next one because I’ve got a really strong idea for that.

“If we could keep going for another series that would be great. Hopefully we’ll be able to keep going.”

The Rig was the first Amazon original to be filmed entirely in Scotland. The first six-part series was launched in over 200 territories in January 2023.

The second series was announced the following month and it has also enjoyed global success since the first episode was screened on Prime Video on January 2. After a month, it is still in the streaming service’s top five TV shows in the UK.

Macpherson said shooting entirely at the Leith Docks studio showed what can be achieved in Scotland.

He said: “Everything in TV is a team effort and it was great working with people like Bob Last and Jason Connery — who run FirstStage Studios — because they provided that facility at exactly the right time.

“People say success is a mixture of luck, timing, being prepared and talent. Lots of things came together at the right time for me.

“I like to think shows like ours demonstrate that you can make film and TV on this scale that’s home grown.”