The hit suspense thriller will head out to sea for a brand-new six-part series for BBC iPlayer and BBC One.
Following the success of the first series, the BBC has commissioned a second instalment of Nightsleeper, the hit real-time thriller written by the BAFTA and RTS award-winning Nick Leather and produced by Element Pictures, a Fremantle company.
The first series followed the fictional Heart of Britain sleeper train travelling from Glasgow to London, where two strangers were forced to work together to save the lives of its passengers. Launching in September 2024, the series became the BBC’s biggest new drama launch of the year, with episode one reaching 8.5 million viewers. The drama also found significant international success, with the series selling to 176 territories worldwide.
This time the action moves from the rails to the open water, as a new high-stakes thriller unfolds aboard a ship travelling across the Irish Sea - and behind every cabin door is another story, another surprise…
Nick Leather says: “It’s so exciting to set sail on season two! The passengers and crew on tonight’s Belfast to Liverpool passenger ferry are about to experience six hours of non-stop thrills and spills, secrets and lies, triumphs and tragedies. None of them are quite as they seem. Nothing in their lives will ever be the same again. Not all of them will make it to the other side. The new Nightsleeper is going to be more nightsleepery than ever…”
Kate Harwood, Executive Producer, says: “Audiences embraced Nightsleeper in such a huge way, and we’re incredibly excited to return with a bold new story. Nick has once again created a brilliantly tense thriller packed with new characters, twists, emotion and edge-of-your-seat drama. We can’t wait to bring this new drama from the high seas.”
Richard Williams, CEO of Northern Ireland Screen, says: “We’re proud to support Element Pictures and the BBC as Nightsleeper returns with an exciting new story rooted in the Irish Sea. It’s wonderful to see Northern Ireland’s world-class crew, locations and creative talent playing a part in bringing this ambitious series to audiences around the world.”
Lindsay Salt, Director of BBC Drama, says: “Series one of Nightsleeper was a breakout hit, thundering across the U.K. to reach millions of viewers. Series two brilliantly builds on everything that made the first so irresistible, and we could not be happier to be working with Nick, Kate and the team to bring it to BBC iPlayer and BBC One.”
The new series was commissioned by Lindsay Salt, Director of BBC Drama, for BBC iPlayer and BBC One, and is produced by Element Pictures (Normal People, The Cage), a Fremantle label, with support from Northern Ireland Screen. The series will be directed by James Kent (The White Queen) and Chris Baugh (Wreck). Kate Harwood, Rachel Dargavel, Ed Guiney, Andrew Lowe and Chris Aird will executive produce for Element Pictures alongside Nick Leather and James Kent, with Gaynor Holmes executive producing for the BBC. The series producer is Jonathan Curling, with Maria Mulhall serving as producer. Fremantle is handling global sales.
Filming will take place in Belfast later this year. Series one of Nightsleeper is available to stream on BBC iPlayer now.
