Summerwater on Channel 4: 'Tense' new drama based on acclaimed novel gets November start date
It looks at the simmering tensions between holidaymakers that eventually erupt into a devastating climax
Summerwater is a “thrilling and compulsive” character-led series which will arrive on Channel 4 in November.
Books nerds might recognise the title, as it’s based on the critically acclaimed, best-selling book of the same name by novelist Sarah Moss.
As well as a “tense” plot, and beautiful location shots, the upcoming series stars some TV greats including Emmy award-winning Dougray Scott, and Happy Valley legend Shirley Henderson.
Here’s everything you need to know about Summerwater on Channel 4, including plot, cast, location, and start date.
What is the plot of Summerwater on Channel 4?
Channel 4 describe Summerwater as a “compelling drama” set predominantly at a remote loch-side Scottish holiday cabin park.
It looks at the “simmering tensions between holidaymakers that eventually erupt into a devastating climax”.
A synopsis tells us: “The story weaves together the lives of several families as they navigate unspoken conflicts, private dilemmas, and fleeting moments of beauty from their disparate cabins. It flashes back to dramatic events in key characters’ lives before their holiday which may have consequences in the present.”
How many episodes is it?
Summerwater will be six episodes of an hour each (including ads).
Channel 4 has not yet confirmed if the series will drop as a boxset or air week by week. If it’s anything like recent thriller In Flight, it will arrive as a bingeable morsel on their streaming site.
Who’s in the cast?
Emmy award-winning Dougray Scott leads the cast of Summerwater on Channel 4. TV viewers will know the Scottish actor for his roles in The Crow Girl, Vigil, Crime, Snatch, and Batwoman. Of course, he played Ian Hainsworth in Desperate Housewives between 2006 and 2007.
He recently played Gordon Brown in ITV’s The Hack cast.
Fellow Scot Shirley Henderson also appears in the drama. She’s famous for her roles in Happy Valley, Dept. Q, and Hamish Macbeth.
Northern-Irish actress Valene Kane, of The Fall and Blue Lights fame, joins the cast, too. She stars alongside Shetland’s Jamie Sives, The Landscapers’ Daniel Rigby, and Spooks’ Shauna Macdonald.
The ensemble cast also includes:
The White Lotus’ Arnas Fedaravičius.
Showtrial’s Anna Próchniak.
Crime’s Gabriel Scott.
Crime’s Shereen Cutkelvin.
Gap Year’s Anders Hayward.
The Bombing of Pan Am 103’s James Harkness.
When’s the start date of Summerwater on Channel 4?
Summerwater that will launch in November.
Although an exact start date has not been confirmed, we’ll let you know as soon as it has.
Is it based on a book?
Summerwater is based on the bestselling book of the same name by Sarah Moss.
The synopsis for the book reads: “It is the summer solstice, but in a faded Scottish cabin park the rain is unrelenting. Twelve people on holiday with their families look on as the skies remain resolutely grey. A woman goes running up the Ben as if fleeing; a teenage boy chances the dark waters of the loch in his kayak; a retired couple head out despite the downpour, driving too fast on the familiar bends.”
It continues: “But there are newcomers too, and one particular family, a mother and daughter with the wrong clothes and the wrong manners, start to draw the attention of the others. Who are they? Where are they from? As darkness finally falls, something is unravelling.”
Critics called it “a masterpiece”, and “so accomplished”.
It has been adapted by screenwriter John Donnelly (Utopia) and is directed by Robert McKillop (Guilt, Ludwig) and Fiona Walton (Shetland).
