It has been revealed that a production crew of a different kind have been using the former Michelin factory in Ballymena as a cruise ship film set venue for ‘Wrecked’, a new comedy horror series for BBC Three.
‘Wrecked’, described as a tense thriller, mixing comedy with a slice of slasher, set aboard a mega cruise ship, was commissioned in 2021 by the BBC with production being undertaken by Euston Films (The Sister, Dublin Murders) and up-and-coming writer Ryan J. Brown.
Information regarding the use of the local site came to light during a recent meeting of Mid and East Antrim Borough Council’s Direct Services Committee.
MEA’s Acting Chief Executive Philip Thompson heard that the television drama "Wrecked" borrowed Council equipment for a scene where a person is shot at height and falls into a bin - “all happening on a cruise ship which is currently being filmed on the Michelin site.”
The luxury liner for the six-part series has everything – glamorous entertainers making guest dreams come true? Check. Vague, unsettling sense of menace? Check. Young, exhausted workers turning up dead or missing? Check.
The series follows nineteen-year-old new recruit, Jamie, as he joins the crew in search of his missing sister. She was working aboard the same vessel on a previous tour and never made it home. Jamie is initiated into cruise life and gets a crash course on the teen tribes within the staff: the theatre kids, the drop-outs, the low-paid workers from developing nations. For this overworked and underpaid crew, life below deck is an odyssey of partying and excess… and they remain oblivious to the bloodthirsty murders taking place on board. Jamie is forced to turn detective and uncover the sinister truth that runs as wide and deep as the ocean he’s trapped on.
Creator Ryan J. Brown said:
“I’m incredibly excited to be setting sail with the BBC and Euston Films. In Wrecked, the kills are brutal, the laughs are loud, and the heartfelt moments land with real candour.
“I wanted to create a piece of genre entertainment that had the savvy teen sharpness of ‘Scream’, the unsettling atmosphere of ‘The Shining’ and the strange upstairs, downstairs mythology of ‘Cabin in the Woods’. At its core, Wrecked is a tense coming-of-age story about a lost, gay kid from Sheffield propelled into uncharted waters of escalating paranoia and self-discovery”.
Series Executive Producer Noemi Spanos said:
“We’re thrilled to introduce Ryan’s wildly distinctive voice to the BBC Three audience. His blend of comedy, horror and coming of age storytelling has had us laughing, crying and terrified in equal measures throughout the development process and we can’t wait to realise Ryan’s unique vision and tone on screen.”
“Love being on set” - social media post from Wrecked creator Ryan J Brown on 28 January 2022.
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