Richard Dormer and Dennis Quaid return to Fortitude for finale

Sky Original Production Fortitude will return later this year for a third and final series.

The third Sky Original Production to be announced today will see the much-loved Arctic thriller back on Sky Atlantic and available on TV streaming service NOW TV in the UK & Ireland, as well as on Sky Atlantic in Italy, Germany and Austria.

The commission further demonstrates Sky’s commitment to offering customers more high-quality original programming and follows the announcement of Catherine the Great and Curfew earlier today. All three Sky Original Productions start filming this year.

A four-part mini-series, the third trip to Fortitude will feature returning key cast including Dennis Quaid (Far from Heaven), Richard Dormer (Game of Thrones), Sienna Guillory (Stan Lee’s Lucky Man), Luke Treadaway (A Street Cat Named Bob), Alexandra Moen (Strike Back), Mia Jexen (Happiness) and Bjorn Hlynur Haraldsson (Jar City), as well as some new faces to be announced at a later date.

This series picks up where the second finished with the death of Governor Munk hanging over the town. Two new police officers are in town from Oslo, sent to Fortitude to investigate the murder, and soon learn the inhabitants of the most staggeringly beautiful place on earth have a lot to overcome…

Star of Fortitude Richard Dormer said: “I can’t wait to get back to this place. I love this world. A brilliant cast and crew. Returning to Fortitude always feels like coming home. And my old friend Dan is waiting for me. And he’s just got this big grin on his face.”

Sky’s head of drama Anne Mensah said: “We know fans of Fortitude all over the world really love this show and we can’t wait to welcome it back. Simon Donald’s created this four-hour special event, which is the perfect ending to the most enigmatic, surprising, shocking and emotional series we’ve ever had on Sky Atlantic.”

Series creator Simon Donald said: “"Fortitude has gripped my imagination like an icy blast to the heart. It’s wonderful to be back for a last dance under the blizzard stars in the cold, dark night and find out who lives, who dies and who goes completely, barking arctic crazy..."

1.4 million viewers tuned in to each episode of the second series last year, which was described as “wholly immersive” by The Observer and “stunning and brilliantly acted” by Empire. Not only a huge hit in the UK, Fortitude has also been enjoyed by millions around the world. Series one and two have been sold to more than 200 broadcasters internationally, making it Sky Vision’s bestselling programme.

2017 was a record-breaking year for Sky Original Productions and entertainment on Sky, which included Sky’s best-performing original series to date in Riviera. This year, Sky will bring customers over 50 Sky Original Productions, including 24 returning series and brand-new commissions, such as the most recommended television show of 2018 in Britannia, which launched last week on Sky Atlantic.

Sky Original Productions feature some of the best names in the UK industry and in 2018 British talent on screen across Sky channels includes Idris Elba, Benedict Cumberbatch, Suranne Jones, Lennie James, James Nesbitt, David Morrissey, Dawn French, Noel Clarke, Ashley Walters and more.

Fortitude is written by Simon Donald (Low Winter Sun) and executive producers for Fifty Fathoms are Patrick Spence (The A Word, Guerrilla), Simon Donald, Dennis Quaid (The Art of More). Sky’s head of drama Anne Mensah is executive producer for Sky. The third series will be produced by Andrew Wood (Will), directed by Kieron Hawkes (Strike) with production design by Paul Spriggs (The A Word).

Fortitude is commissioned for Sky by head of drama Anne Mensah and Sky’s director of programmes Zai Bennett. Sky Vision will handle distribution rights. Fortitude will be filmed at Bristol production base The Bottle Yard Studios and on location in Svalbard, where Simon Donald found his original inspiration for the series.

Ends.

For more information, please contact:

Alex Henderson

Sky Entertainment & Product PR

Alex.henderson@sky.uk

Notes to editors

About Sky

Sky is Europe's leading entertainment company, serving 23 million customers across seven countries - UK, Ireland, Germany, Austria, Italy, Spain and Switzerland. The company has annual revenues of £12.9 billion and is Europe’s leading investor in television content with an annual programming spend of £7 billion.

From exclusive partnerships with HBO, Showtime and Warner Brothers to Sky Original Productions, Sky offers the best and broadest range of content along with the best viewing experience to suit each and every customer. Whether that’s through the multi-award winning next generation box, Sky Q, or Sky’s contract-free online streaming service, NOW TV, customers have access to the latest movies, drama, sports and kids entertainment wherever and whenever they like. This is all supported by Sky’s best in class customer service.

Sky’s success is not just based on what the company does but how it does it. Named as one of the Top 10 Green Companies in the World by Newsweek, one of the world’s most recognised rankings of business’s environmental performance, Sky ensures its responsible business strategy is embedded right across the group.

This year we announced three new major commitments for our corporate campaign Sky Ocean Rescue; the reduction of our own single-use plastics by 2020; an investment fund of £25 million over five years in technology solutions; and support of marine protected areas across our markets.

Sky has over 31,000 employees and is listed as one of The Times Top 50 employers for women. Sky is listed on the London Stock Exchange (SKY).

About NOW TV

NOW TV is a pick and mix TV streaming service that lets you choose from a range of passes contract free. Available anytime, anywhere, you can watch through a NOW TV Box, on the web or on over 60 devices with the NOW TV app.

Whether you’re into big dramas, blockbuster movies, live sports or even just some extra TV for the kids, NOW TV offers four passes which include the latest and best TV and movies: Entertainment, Sky Cinema, Kids and Sky Sports. This includes Sky Atlantic, over 250 Box Sets on demand, all 10 Sky Sports channels and over 1,000 movies – all available with no contract.

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About Sky Vision

Sky Vision is the production and distribution arm of Sky. The distribution arm represents around 6,000 hours of quality primetime programming from Sky Original Productions and independent third party production, across all key primetime genres (drama, entertainment, factual entertainment and factual). The business also has equity investments in ten production businesses in the UK and US; Love Productions, Blast! Films, Sugar Films, True North, Chrysalis Vision, Avanti Media 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 with independent producers in the UK and North America and has development deals with a number of production companies including Double Nickel, MyEntertainment and Peacock Alley in North America; and Bohemia Films, Chalkboard TV, LittleRock Pictures, Merman Films, Spark Media Partners, ACME and STV Productions in the UK.

About Fifty Fathoms

Fifty Fathoms is a British drama production company set up in 2010 under the umbrella of Tiger Aspect, an Endemol Shine UK company. Creating an environment in which screenwriters can deliver their boldest work, the label has worked with Ronan Bennett, Peter Bowker, Lucy Kirkwood, John Ridley and Jack Thorne to name a few. Key productions include Marvellous (BBC 2) the BAFTA winning film written by Peter Bowker, two series of Arctic set crime thriller Fortitude (Sky Atlantic) written by Simon Donald, The A Word (BBC1) developed and written by Peter Bowker and Guerrilla, (Sky Atlantic and Showtime) written and directed by Academy Award winner John Ridley.