In the aftermath of Jack the Ripper's reign of terror, London's Whitechapel sits on a precipice, and H Division – the precinct charged with keeping order – must work diligently to police the toughest district in the East End. Welcome to Ripper Street, where fear lurks that each new murder could mark the return of The Ripper. As imitators emerge and feral gangs terrorize, Inspector Edmund Reid – one of the lead detectives on the Ripper case – and his teamare further drawn into the criminal underbelly of Victorian London. And their vigilance must be swift to stop those that threaten the calm of the city. Starring Matthew Macfadyen (Anna Karenina, Pride and Prejudice), Jerome Flynn (Game of Thrones), Adam Rothenberg (Alcatraz) and MyAnna Buring (Downton Abbey, The Twilight Saga) and loosely based on real characters and events, the eight-part BBC AMERICA co-production created by Richard Warlow, premieres Saturday, January 19, 9:00pm ET.
"BBC AMERICA is excited to present this latest quality offering from the BBC," say Perry Simon, General Manager, BBC AMERICA. "Ripper Street is an edge of your seat thrill ride through Victorian London, with a stellar cast and compelling stories that will send chills down the spines of our viewers."
A compelling, zesty crime drama with an international cast, Ripper Street's rich storylines meld with the intrigue of a criminal underworld. Through modern marvels of the time, including early forensic methods,
Moving Pictures, the early typewriter and more, the H Division squares off against copycat killers, a mass murderer who unleashes biological toxins, gamblers and counterfeiters. But with a neighborhood stuck at a volatile peak, can anyone bring order to these blood stained streets?
Leading the battle is Inspector Edmund Reid (
Matthew Macfadyen), one of the lead investigators in the hunt to capture The Ripper. A detective in the truest sense of the word, Reid's calm and instinctive understanding is what the East End streets need to keep order in turbulent times. Haunted by his failure to capture London's most evil killer, and by demons fiercely protected by him and his long suffering wife, Emily (
Amanda Hale), Reid is driven by his belief that, through innovation and technology, the day will come where ignorance will never again stand in his way of apprehending a mass murderer.
Aiding Reid is his right-hand-man, Sergeant Bennet Drake (Jerome Flynn), a brute force of a man whose suit is the only thing that distinguishes him from the thugs he polices. He's loyal and protective of Reid, who believes in him and uses Drake's ferocity to his advantage. Scarred by war and longing for the simple life, Drake knows all too well the kind of ugliness men, including him, are capable of.
Rounding out the trio is Captain Homer Jackson (
Adam Rothenberg), a free-spirited American expatriate enlisted by Reid for his forensic brilliance. Reid is a staunch believer in technological innovation as a crime fighting tool and Jackson provides the science to back his beliefs. But his vices are many and his secrets run deep. Jackson's ties to an upmarket brothel-keeper, Long Susan (
MyAnna Buring), creates an air of suspicion as to why they both decided to leave America for the lawless East End streets.
The series is created and written by Richard Warlow, showrunner and writer of the BBC One drama, Mistresses. Richard began as a Development Executive at Pathe and DNA Films before embarking on a career as a screenwriter in 2003.
Ripper Street is the latest co-production to join BBC AMERICA's stable of compelling programming including the award-winning Dramaville series The Hour, Luther and the upcoming mini-series, Spies of Warsaw.
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