Amazon Studios and Sky Vision today announced the pick up of Fortitude Season 2, which will be added to Amazon’s lineup of dramatic original series for Prime Video in the US.
The first season of Fortitude premiered on Sky Atlantic in 2015 and became the network’s most successful original drama commission to date, with the first episode watched by an accumulative audience of more than 3.2 million. The first season has also been available on Prime Video in the US since January 2016, with more than 2,000 four and five star reviews from customers.
Fortitude Season 2 of the series will become an Amazon Original Series and features an ensemble cast, including Richard Dormer (Game of Thrones), Dennis Quaid (Vantage Point), Sofie Gråbøl (The Killing), Luke Treadaway (Clash of the Titans), Darren Boyd (Stan Lee’s Lucky Man), Björn Hlynur Haraldsson (Jar 2pm City), Mia Jexen (Happiness), Alexandra Moen (Strike Back), Verónica Echegui (The Cold Light of Day), Sienna Guillory (Stan Lee’s Lucky Man), Ramon Tikaram (Jupiter Ascending), Parminder Nagra (ER), Michelle Fairley (Game of Thrones), Robert Sheehan (Misfits) and Ken Stott (The Missing). The series is scheduled to premiere on Prime Video in the US later this year.
Fortitude follows Sheriff Dan Anderssen (Dormer) of Fortitude, a small isolated community with a captive population in an environment that is undergoing change and upheaval due to parasite and pathogen activity. After shooting the woman he loved, Dan becomes consumed with guilt, disappears into the wilderness and was presumed dead. Without a sheriff, the people of Fortitude begin to wonder whether Deputy Eric Odegard (Haraldsson), who has spent the last few weeks desperately searching for Dan, can fill his shoes. A new body is discovered on the other side of town and Eric must step up and lead this horrific investigation. As his own police team is trying to figure out who would have killed a man for no apparent reason, Dan suddenly reappears—a violent broken ruin of a man and wild to the point of feral. Quaid stars as Michael Lennox, a fisherman and patriarch of a family living in Fortitude, who is struggling to come to terms with his terminally ill wife, and will try anything to find a cure.
“In ‘Fortitude,’ our customers will experience Dennis Quaid in a remarkably compassionate role, joined by an ensemble cast that has resonated with audiences globally,” said Joe Lewis, Head of Comedy, Drama and VR, Amazon Studios. “We’re excited to add such a beautiful and captivating series to our originals slate.”
“Amazon is the perfect home for ‘Fortitude’ in the US,” said Jane Millichip, Managing Director, Sky Vision. “’Fortitude’ is high-end, addictive viewing and perfectly suits Amazon’s scripted portfolio. Amazon has been a keen supporter of the series from the outset, having taken an SVOD window on season one. We’re delighted to now extend the relationship and make Amazon the home of our most successful returning Sky Atlantic original drama series.”
Fortitude is an Amazon Original Series in the US and Sky Original Production in the UK, produced by Fifty Fathoms, the makers of BAFTA-winning Marvellous, for BBC Two. The series is created and written by Simon Donald, and executive produced by Donald, Faye Dorn (Inspector George Gently) and Patrick Spence (The A Word). Trevor Hopkins (Strike Back) and Susie Liggat (Doctor Who) serve as producers.
