Fortitude: Season Two Finds a New Home on Amazon

Viewers in the US will “soon” be able to see the second season of the Fortitude TV show. Season two of the drama had been slated to air on Pivot TV but that cable channel folded in October 2016 before it could air.

The first season of Fortitude was already available on Amazon’s Prime Video and the company has now announced that season two will be released later this year.

Here’s the press release:

Amazon Studios Orders Original Dramatic Series Fortitude from Sky Vision
Ten episodes of the Arctic thriller, featuring an ensemble cast that includes Richard Dormer and Dennis Quaid, will debut later this year on Prime Video in the US

SEATTLE–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Feb. 27, 2017– (NASDAQ: AMZN)—Amazon Studios and Sky Vision today announced the addition of Fortitude 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. Season two 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.

Fortitude will be available for Prime members to stream and enjoy using the Amazon Prime Video app for TVs, connected devices including Amazon Fire TV, and mobile devices, or online, along with other Amazon Original Series at Amazon.com/originals, at no additional cost to their membership. Customers who are not already Prime members can sign up for a free trial at www.amazon.com/prime. For a list of all Amazon Video compatible devices, visit www.amazon.com/howtostream.

About Amazon Video

Amazon Video is a premium on-demand entertainment service that offers customers the greatest choice in what to watch and how to watch it. Amazon Video is the only service that provides all of the following:

Prime Video: Thousands of movies and TV shows, including popular licensed content plus critically-acclaimed and award-winning Amazon Original Series and Movies from Amazon Studios like Transparent, The Man in the High Castle, Love & Friendship, and kids series Tumble Leaf, available for unlimited streaming as part of an Amazon Prime membership. Prime Video is also now available to customers in more than 200 countries and territories around the globe at www.primevideo.com.
Amazon Channels: Over 100 video subscriptions to networks like HBO, SHOWTIME, STARZ, PBS KIDS, Acorn TV, and more, available to Amazon Prime members in the US as add-ons to their membership. To view the full list of available channels, visit www.amazon.com/channels.
Rent or Own: Hundreds of thousands of titles, including new release movies and current TV shows available for on-demand rental or purchase for all Amazon customers.
Instant Access: Customers can instantly watch anytime, anywhere through the Amazon Video app on compatible TVs, mobile devices, Amazon Fire TV, Fire TV Stick, and Fire tablets, or online. For a list of all compatible devices, visit www.amazon.com/howtostream.
Premium Features: Top features like 4K Ultra HD, High Dynamic Range (HDR) and mobile downloads for offline viewing of select content.
In addition to Prime Video, the Prime membership includes unlimited fast free shipping options across all categories available on Amazon, more than two million songs and thousands of playlists and stations with Prime Music, secure photo storage with Prime Photos, unlimited reading with Prime Reading, unlimited access to a digital audiobook catalog with Audible Channels for Prime, a rotating selection of free digital games and in-game loot with Twitch Prime, early access to select Lightning Deals, exclusive access and discounts to select items, and more. To sign-up for Prime or to find out more, visit: www.amazon.com/prime.

About Amazon

Amazon is guided by four principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to operational excellence, and long-term thinking. Customer reviews, 1-Click shopping, personalized recommendations, Prime Fulfillment by Amazon, AWS, Kindle Direct Publishing, Kindle, Fire tablets, Fire TV, Amazon Echo, and Alexa are some of the products and services pioneered by Amazon. For more information, visit www.amazon.com/about.

About Sky Vision
Sky Vision is the production and distribution arm of Sky. The distribution arm represents around 5,000 hours of quality primetime programming from Sky Originals and independent third-party production, across all key primetime genres (drama, entertainment, factual entertainment and factual). The business also has equity investments in seven production businesses in the UK and US; Love Productions, Blast! Films, Sugar Films and Sky Vision Productions in the UK; and in the US, Jupiter Entertainment, Talos Films and Znak & Co.

In addition to its equity investments, Sky Vision works extensively within dependent producers in the UK and US and has development deals with a number of production companies; including Asylum Entertainment and Peacock Alley in North America; and Avanti Media, Bohemia, Chalkboard, LittleRock Pictures, Merman Films and Spring Films in the UK.

About Fifty Fathoms
Fifty Fathoms was set up by Patrick Spence under Endemol Shine Group in 2010. Patrick now runs the company with Katie Swinden (Peaky Blinders, Marvellous). Filming recently completed on Guerrilla, a 6 x 60′ series for Sky Atlantic and Showtime, written and directed by Academy Award winner John Ridley, starring Freida Pinto, Babou Ceesay, Rory Kinnear, Denise Gough, Danny Mays, Zawe Ashton and Idris Elba, about two political activists fighting against a racist police force in 1970s London.

Fifty Fathoms’ 2014 debut production, Marvellous, a 90′ single film written by Peter Bowker, told the incredible true story of Neil Baldwin, a man who refused to accept the label of learning difficulties. Directed by Julian Farino (Entourage, The Office (US) ) and starring Toby Jones and Gemma Jones, it went on to win BAFTAs for Best Single Film, Best Director and Best Supporting Actress; Best Writer and Director, RTS; Best Film and Best Actor, BPG and Best Film, Writers Guild Awards and FIPA. And they have been picked up for a second season of The A Word, Pete Bowker’s 6 x 60′ series for BBC1 and Sundance, directed by Peter Cattaneo, starring Christopher Eccleston, Lee Ingleby and Morven Christie, a co-production with Keshet.

What do you think? Are you a fan of the Fortitude TV series? Will you be watching season two via Amazon? Should it be cancelled or renewed for season three?