Hot Picks: Wreck

Set on the high seas, populated by a global cast of characters and featuring a string of missing persons, this thriller promises to be a high-octane, genre-hopping watch.

Wreck follows a group of disillusioned Gen Z workers aboard luxury cruise liner The Sacramentum as they party hard to escape their exhausting routine catering to the whims of wealthy passengers.

Leading the cast is Ladhood’s Oscar Kennedy as Jamie, who joins the crew to investigate his sister’s disappearance from the vessel. What follows is a smorgasbord of comedy, mystery and drama with a slice of slasher-horror, as crew and passengers find themselves being targeted by a killer.

Kennedy is joined by Thaddea Graham (The Irregulars), Jack Rowan (Noughts + Crosses) and Harriet Webb (I May Destroy You).

Fremantle chief executive, international, Jens Richter says Wreck will not only appeal to Gen Z, but also to the increasing number of clients who have been repeatedly asking him for young-adult content.

“We are in a period of high competition between streamers and local broadcasters, and one of the main lines of product driving that is young adult, because it is the ambition of all broadcasters and platforms to get young people on board,” he explains.

As a result, the show has already been developed with up to two more series in mind.

Wreck captures the “zeitgeist” in TV, Richter says, tackling classism, out-of-touch elites and unbridled capitalism, with the lowly and diverse crew tasked with being at the beck and call of the ship’s officers and the wealthy passengers upstairs.

What intrigued Richter about the project was its inspiration – the real-life phenomenon where people regularly go missing from cruise ships. The disappearances often go uninvestigated due to either international water rules or a lack of interest from local law enforcement – the “ideal backdrop” for a string of murders, Richter says.

Wreck has not yet gone to market but Fremantle wants to make a “big splash” with it at Mipcom – a mark of its faith in the show’s global potential.

“We’re currently closing the first deals just based on scripts and concept but I can’t tell you with whom,” Richter teases.