Netflix Acquires BBC’s ‘River’ Starring Stellan Skarsgård

Netflix has acquired exclusive international streaming rights to BBC’s River, a six-part thriller crime series from Endemol Shine International and Kudos written and created by Emmy-winning The Hour scribe Abi Morgan. Starring Stellan Skarsgård (The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo), River will premiere October 13 on BBC One in the UK. All six episodes will be available on Netflix starting November 18 in the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, France, DACH, Benelux and the Nordics.

The original drama series centers on John River (Skarsgård), a brilliant police officer whose genius and fault line is the fragility of his mind — a man haunted by the murder victims whose cases he must lay to rest. Nicola Walker (Last Tango In Halifax) will play River’s colleague and confidante, Detective Sgt. Jackie “Stevie” Stevenson, with Adeel Akhtar (Utopia) as Detective Sgt. Ira King. Lesley Manville (An Adventure In Space And Time) will play their superior, Chief Inspector Chrissie Read. Eddie Marsan (Ray Donovan) plays a notorious killer who haunts River. Additional cast includes Sorcha Cusack (Father Brown) as Stevie’s mother, Bridie, and Georgina Rich (Sherlock) plays Rosa, a police psychiatrist.

River was commissioned by BBC One Controller Charlotte Moore and Ben Stephenson, Controller of BBC Drama Commissioning. Jane Featherstone, Manda Levin, Abi Morgan and Lucy Richer are executive producers. Chris Carey (Run, Ambassador, Dirk Gently) produces, and Richard Laxton (Burton And Taylor, Him And Her) directs.

River is represented by Endemol Shine International, the sales and distribution arm of Endemol Shine Group.