Alex Rider (TV series)

Last updated

Alex Rider
Alex Rider TV Series Logo.png
Genre
Created by Guy Burt
Based on Alex Rider
by Anthony Horowitz
Written byGuy Burt
Directed by
Starring
Opening theme
Composer Raffertie
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons3
No. of episodes24
Production
Executive producers
Producer
  • Mat Chaplin
Production locations
CinematographyBen Wheeler
Editors
  • Richard Smither
  • Ben Whitehead
Running time43–45 minutes
Production companies
Original release
Network
Release4 June 2020 (2020-06-04) –
5 April 2024 (2024-04-05)

Alex Rider is a British spy thriller television series based on the novel series of the same name by Anthony Horowitz. Adapted by Guy Burt, it stars Otto Farrant as the eponymous character, who is recruited by a subdivision of MI6 as a teenage spy to infiltrate places that others are unable to. The series is Amazon's first scripted British Amazon Original series. The show is jointly produced by Eleventh Hour Films and Sony Pictures Television, and is the second screen adaptation of the novels, following the 2006 feature film version of the first novel, Stormbreaker.

Contents

The eight-episode first season, based on the book Point Blanc , premiered on Amazon Prime Video in the United Kingdom on 4 June 2020. In November 2020, the series was renewed for a second season, adapting the book Eagle Strike . The second season premiered on 3 December 2021 on IMDb TV. In June 2022, the series was renewed for a third season, adapting the book Scorpia . The third and final season premiered on 5 April 2024 on Amazon Freevee. The series has received positive reviews, with praise for the cinematography, score, and performances, particularly for Farrant and O'Connor.

Premise

London teenager Alex Rider is recruited by the Department of Special Operations, a subdivision of the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), to infiltrate a controversial corrective academy for the wayward offspring of the ultra-rich. [1]

Cast and characters

Main

Recurring

Guest

Episodes

SeriesEpisodesOriginally releasedNetwork
1 84 June 2020 (2020-06-04) Amazon Prime Video
2 83 December 2021 (2021-12-03) IMDb TV
3 85 April 2024 (2024-04-05) Amazon Freevee

Season 1 (2020)

  1. 1 2 Clarke, Stewart (24 July 2018). "Alex Rider Series Heads to TV with Sony, Eleventh Hour". Variety . Retrieved 4 December 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 "When will the Alex Rider TV series be released?". Radio Times. 22 January 2020.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Lang, Jamie (1 February 2021). "'Alex Rider' Season 2 Casting Details Announced – Global Bulletin". Variety. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
  4. ↑ "KEVIN MCNALLY" . Retrieved 1 January 2023.
  5. 1 2 3 "EXCLUSIVE: Actor Kevin McNally talks Pirates of the Caribbean, politics, and ITV drama Stonehouse". euroweeklynews.com. 14 October 2022. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
  6. 1 2 3 "'Alex Rider' Season 3 Lines Up New Foes for the Junior James Bond". 19 January 2023. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
  7. 1 2 3 "Sofia Helin, Shelley Conn, Kevin McNally, Jason Wong Join Season 3 Cast of Amazon Freevee's 'Alex Rider'". 19 January 2023. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
  8. ↑ Leane, Rob (8 June 2020). "Amazon's Alex Rider TV Show: Differences From the Stormbreaker and Point Blanc Books". Den of Geek . Retrieved 8 June 2020. Alex gets chummy with a pupil named James in both versions, but the book one is German and the TV one is Australian, played by Earl Cave.
  9. ↑ Clarke, Stewart (31 May 2017). "Alex Rider Books Being Developed Into Series by ITV, Eleventh Hour Films". Variety .
  10. ↑ "'Alex Rider' Officially Renewed for Season 2 at Amazon's IMDb TV". The Hollywood Reporter. 10 November 2020. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  11. 1 2 3 Petski, Denise (10 November 2020). "'Alex Rider' Renewed For Season 2 By IMDb TV". Deadline. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  12. ↑ "Production Weekly - Issue 1246 - Thursday, May 13, 2021 / 131 Listings - 30 Pages". Production Weekly. 12 May 2021. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
  13. ↑ "'Alex Rider' Renewed for Season 3 at Amazon Freevee, Production Begins this Fall" . Retrieved 25 September 2022.
  14. 1 2 Petski, Denise (29 February 2024). "Alex Rider To End With Season 3, Premiere Date Set At Freevee". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
  15. ↑ White, Peter (23 April 2019). "Sony Pictures Television Finds Its 'Alex Rider' With 'Mrs Wilson' Star Otto Farrant To Play Teen Superspy". Deadline. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
  16. ↑ White, Peter (24 April 2019). "'Alex Rider': 'Game Of Thrones' Stars Brenock O'Connor & Stephen Dillane, 'Broadchurch's Andrew Buchan & 'Line of Duty's Vicky McClure Join Teen Superspy Drama". Deadline. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
  17. ↑ Khera, Japleen (13 August 2020). "Where Is Alex Rider Filmed? TV Show Filming Locations". The Cinemaholic. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
  18. ↑ Llewellyn, Tom (4 June 2020). "Amazon Prime: Where was Alex Rider filmed? Spy drama fakes the French Alps!". HITC. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  19. ↑ Kanter, Jake (17 June 2020). "Sony Spy Drama 'Alex Rider' Set To Be Renewed For Second Season". Deadline. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
  20. ↑ Kanter, Jake (3 November 2020). "'Alex Rider': Sony-Backed Eleventh Hour Poised To Shoot Season 2 From January". Deadline. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
  21. ↑ Daniels, Nia. "Amazon's Alex Rider S2 begins Bristol shoot". KFTV. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
  22. ↑ Raven, Maddy (4 February 2021). "'Alex Rider' Season 2 starts filming at Goldney Hall". Epigram. University of Bristol.
  23. ↑ Becquart, Charlotte (4 March 2021). "Filming of Cornwall surfing scene for series caught on camera". CornwallLive.
  24. ↑ Becquart, Charlotte (2 March 2021). "Film crews in Cornwall to shoot Amazon Prime series". CornwallLive.
  25. ↑ Deacon, Thomas (8 March 2021). "Amazon Prime filming transforms Cardiff street into London scene". WalesOnline.
  26. ↑ "Crews filming at Cotswold Airport for Amazon Prime's Alex Rider 2". 30 April 2021.
  27. ↑ Horowitz, Anthony [@AnthonyHorowitz] (18 June 2021). "Season Two of Alex Rider finished shooting today. Congratulations to Otto, Brenock and all! As a special souvenir t…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  28. ↑ Daniels, Nia (14 October 2022). "Alex Rider 3 becomes first major production to shoot at new studio TBY2". KFTV. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
  29. ↑ "Alex Rider (Season 3)". Production List | Film & Television Industry Alliance. 12 September 2022. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
  30. ↑ Daniels, Nia (14 October 2022). "Cardiff Bay Barrage to close for filming of Amazon Prime series". walesonline.co.uk. Retrieved 2 December 2022.
  31. ↑ Daniels, Nia (14 October 2022). "TV spy drama Alex Rider filmed in Gloucester city centre". gloucestershirelive.co.ukk. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
  32. 1 2 Richards, Will (5 June 2020). "'Alex Rider' review: a fresh start for the teenage super-spy". NME . Archived from the original on 5 June 2020. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  33. ↑ Holbrook, Damian (3 December 2021). "'Alex Rider' Season 2 Takes Aim at a New Villain… and a Hero's Mental Health". TV Insider . TV Guide. Archived from the original on 3 December 2021. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
  34. ↑ Kanter, Jake (13 May 2020). "'Alex Rider': Amazon Snags UK Rights To Anthony Horowitz Spy Franchise". Deadline Hollywood . Archived from the original on 29 May 2020. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  35. ↑ Mitovich, Matt Webb (14 July 2020). "Alex Rider Spy Novel Adaptation Lands Stateside Home on IMDb TV". TVLine. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  36. 1 2 Brooks, Sam (5 June 2020). "Bond, Teen Bond: The brilliance of the Alex Rider series". The Spinoff . Archived from the original on 5 June 2020. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  37. ↑ "Coming of Age Spy Series Alex Rider to Premiere as an IMDb TV Original in the U.S. and as an Amazon Original for Germany, Austria and Latin America" (Press release). Amazon. 14 July 2020. Retrieved 11 November 2020– via Business Wire.
  38. ↑ Kanter, Jake (14 July 2020). "'Alex Rider': Amazon Streamer IMDb TV Takes U.S. Rights To Sony Spy Series". Deadline. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  39. ↑ Caruso, Nick (11 October 2021). "Alex Rider First Look: Watch Season 2 Teaser and Get Premiere Date". TVLine . Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  40. ↑ Middleton, Richard (29 September 2021). "Amazon launches AVOD streamer IMDb TV in UK". TBI Vision. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  41. ↑ "What's Hot - AXN ASIA". AXN . Archived from the original on 19 June 2021.
  42. ↑ "Alex Rider: Season 1 (2020)". Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  43. ↑ "Alex Rider: Season 1". Metacritic . Retrieved 17 November 2020.
  44. ↑ Managan, Lucy (4 June 2020). "Alex Rider review – slick, silly fun with the teenage James Bond". The Guardian . Archived from the original on 5 June 2020. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  45. ↑ Cuming, Ed (3 June 2020). "Alex Rider review: Buckle up for polished yet safe spy thriller that leaves 2006's Stormbreaker in the dust". The Independent . Archived from the original on 3 June 2020. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  46. ↑ Singh, Anita (4 June 2020). "Alex Rider, review: Jason Bourne Jr will keep the whole family entertained" . The Telegraph . Archived from the original on 5 June 2020. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  47. ↑ Griffiths, Emmy (4 June 2020). "Alex Rider Amazon show is the adaptation fans have been waiting for". Hello! . Archived from the original on 6 June 2020. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
No.
overall		No. in
season		EpisodeDirected byWritten byOriginal release date
11"Lies" Andreas Prochaska Guy Burt 4 June 2020 (2020-06-04)
Prior to making arrangements to meet the Department of Special Operations' Director Alan Blunt, New York businessman Michael J. Roscoe is assassinated by a Russian professional hitman, Yassen Gregorovich. Meanwhile, in London, Alex Rider lives with his uncle Ian Rider, who is an undercover Department agent posing as a banker, and their American housekeeper Jack Starbright. His best friend at school is Tom Harris. Ian is tasked with investigating the deaths of Roscoe and a Russian man whose children attended a school called Point Blanc. However, Ian is double-crossed by fellow agent Martin Wilby and is shot dead by Yassen Gregorovitch. The British authorities claim that Ian was killed during a car accident, which arouses Alex's suspicions. Using the Find My Phone function on Tom's phone, Alex finds his uncle's car and discovers that he was not killed during an accident. However, he encounters Blunt and fellow MI6 officer Mrs Jones, who, upon realising Alex's skill, would like to recruit him. Initially, Alex refuses, but upon the Department threatening Jack with deportation and Alex with living in a foster home, he reluctantly decides to help them.
22"Interrogation"Andreas ProchaskaGuy Burt4 June 2020 (2020-06-04)
After learning the true details of Ian's death from Blunt and Mrs Jones, Alex is visited at school by a man named Geoffrey Daniels, who claims to be a Foreign and Commonwealth Office official trying to get Alan's subdivision shut down for using a teenager in espionage. Realising that it is a test, Alex refuses to provide him with information. On the way home, he is kidnapped by a group led by "Wolf", who interrogates him about Ian Rider and Point Blanc. Alex refuses and is tortured with loud rock music and water. However, Alex escapes, only to discover that his kidnapping was part of a training exercise orchestrated by the Department and that "Daniels" is really an MI6 agent named Smithers. Later, Alex agrees to work for the Department and infiltrate Point Blanc in order to find those who murdered his uncle Ian. Meanwhile, Wilby meets with Yassen and claims that MI6 is unaware that Ian was murdered by a double agent and linked to Point Blanc and Yassen's involvement.
Novels
Adaptations
Characters
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