Wreck (originally titled Wrecked) is a British comedy horror television series, created and written by Ryan J. Brown. It stars Oscar Kennedy as Jamie, a young man who takes a job on board a cruise ship in order to investigate the disappearance of his sister. It premiered on BBC Three on 9 October 2022, with all episodes airing on BBC iPlayer on the same day. The show was renewed for a second series in October 2022, and set for broadcast in 2024. The second series premiered on 26 March 2024.
The series received mixed reviews from critics but proved a hit with audiences. In particular, the show was received favourably by the LGBTQ+ press with Attitude, Gay Times and The Queer Review featuring the series on their lists of Top LGBT TV Shows of 2022.
Contents
Cast and characters
Main
Oscar Kennedy as Jamie Walsh, a nineteen-year-old who takes a job on the Sacramentum to find out what happened to his sister.
Thaddea Graham as Vivian Lim, one of Jamie's colleagues who works on the Sacramentum after fleeing her homophobic family.
Anthony Rickman as Olly Reyes (season 1; recurring season 2), a member of the Sacramentum's crew who befriends Jamie and Vivian.
Louis Boyer as Sam Rhodes (season 1), an officer on the Sacramentum.
Alice Nokes as Sophia Leigh, queen bee of the Sacramentum's entertainment team.
Peter Claffey as Cormac Kelly, Jamie's friend with whom he switches identities in order to get onto the Sacramentum.
Miya Ocego as Rosie Preston, Cormac's ex-girlfriend and a transgender woman who works as a Cher impersonator.
Jodie Tyack as Pippa Walsh (season 2; guest season 1), Jamie's sister who disappeared while working on the Sacramentum.
Amber Grappy as Lauren Thompson (season 2; recurring season 1), one of Jamie and Vivian's colleagues.
Recurring
Harriet Webb as Karen MacIntyre, the crew manager of the Sacramentum
Warren James Dunning as Officer Beaker, an officer on the Sacramentum and Karen's second-in-command
James Phoon as Hamish Campbell, a member of the Sacramentum's entertainment team
Ali Hardiman as Bethany-May, a member of the Sacramentum's entertainment team
Melissa Dilber and Merih Dilber as Amy #1 and Amy #2, twin sisters who are members of the Sacramentum's entertainment team
Francis Flores as The Baby, the Sacramentum's tattooist
Panti Bliss as Brian/Gloria P. Hole, a drag queen employed on the Sacramentum
Series One
Jack Rowan as Danny Jones, Pippa's ex-boyfriend and a member of the entertainment team.
Diego Andres as Jerome Dupont, one of Jamie and Vivian's colleagues
Louise Parker as Jenny, one of Jamie and Vivian's colleagues
Georgia Goodman as Dolce, a cleaner on the Sacramentum
Ramanique Ahluwalia as Lily Tee, a wealthy guest on board the Sacramentum
Ned Costello as Nile, a wealthy guest on board the Sacramentum and Lily's stepbrother
Donald Sage Mackay as Henry Allan, the director of the Sacramentum
Production
BBC Three commissioned Wrecked from Euston Films in March 2021. Written by Ryan J. Brown and directed by Chris Baugh, the six 45-minute episode series is executive produced by Noemi Spanos for Euston Films and Tommy Bulfin for the BBC.
While writing the show, Brown purposefully included explicit LGBT themes (both Jamie and Vivian are gay), explaining that "as a gay man and horror fan, I think horror has always been queer but it's always coded, and subtext. I thought, 'let's do away with the subtext. Let's have explicit representation" and adding that he was used to LGBT characters always being the sidekicks in horror content. Simultaneously, Brown was careful to ensure that Jamie and Vivian's sexuality did not define them as characters but that he did not dismiss this either, noting that "growing up gay has equipped them to be the perfect heroes but the story doesn't need to be about their trauma".
The cast was confirmed in March 2022, with Oscar Kennedy set to star as the lead Jamie. Also part of the cast were Thaddea Graham, Jack Rowan, and Jodie Tyack as well as Louis Boyer, Anthony Rickman, Amber Grappy, Diego Andres, Peter Claffey, Miya Ocego, Warren James Dunning, Ramanique Ahluwalia, and Alice Nokes. In a video posted to Instagram, Brown explained that Jamie is named after Jamie Lee Curtis, best known for playing Laurie Strode in the Halloween film franchise, and Jesse Walsh, the character played by Mark Patton in A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge, whom he dubbed the "first male scream queen".
Principal photography took place in Northern Ireland.
In October 2022, prior to the first series' broadcast, it was announced that a second series of the show has been in development, and that the show was designed to run for at least three.
Principal photography for the second series returned to Northern Ireland and lasted for four months between May 11 and September 1, 2023. Director Chris Baugh explained that the challenges of creating a realistic cruise ship in a warehouse was particularly challenging during production of series one, in contrast of the filming of the second series which was largely outdoors and more dependent on the weather. He cited The Wicker Man, Friday the 13th, The Final Girls, and The Evil Dead as particular influences on the second series.
Episodes
All episodes were made available on BBC iPlayer prior to their linear broadcast.
Critical reception
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the first season of Wreck holds a 69% approval rating, based on 13 critic reviews, with an average rating of 6.4/10. Metacritic gave a score of 57 out of 100 based on 6 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".
Both Attitude and Gay Times featured Wreck on their list of Top LGBT TV Shows of 2022.
In a four-star review, Benji Wilson of The Telegraph praised the premise and Chris Baugh's directing and described the series as being like a punk band at their first gig stating, "Wreck’s energy is infectious. Everyone on the ship is a suspect and no-one can get off. If that’s just Death on the Nile with ADHD, fine: I still want to know whodunit. And why they’re wearing a duck mask." Similarly, Neil Baker from Cinerama lauded BBC Three for commissioning the show, and referred to Wreck's killer duck as a "slasher icon". He called Brown's screenplay "as sharp as the knife our devilish duck wields", noting his ability to reference classic horror properties such as Scream, I Know What You Did Last Summer and Friday the 13th while still allowing Wreck to feel "fresh and different to anything else we have seen", and praised the series' humour, pacing, cinematography and queer representation. The show also received four-star reviews from Heat, which declared it a "stylish" and "fresh, vibrant, chilling horror treat", and TVTimes, who noted that the show "delivers jump-scares and witty one-liners with equal aplomb". In their round-up of new shows, NME referred to Wreck as a "comic-horror delight" and a "mischievous slasher in the vein of Scream".
In a wider article praising the series' queer and Asian representation, Alistair James of Attitude stated "the inclusion of LGBTQ characters doesn’t feel tokenistic or as if it’s been done to check a box. Therefore it’s more rewarding to watch as an audience. It feels sincere and heartfelt."
In a review for Autostraddle, Editor Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya praised the central relationship in the show stating, “It’s a series that surprised me and not in the expected avenues of plot twists but rather in its humor and its characters and relationship dynamics. Vivian and Jamie make for one of the best queer friendships I’ve seen on television in a while”.