Sky halts second series of popular crime thriller just two months before filming is due to start

Sky Max has axed a popular crime thriller series just two months before filming for its second season was about to begin.

The Rising – starring Clara Rugaard – will not continue for more seasons after ‘the project was pulled’.

The second season – which would be called Risen – was intended to mark the start of an anthology series for the franchise.

But a TV insider close to the show has now told Variety: ‘It was canceled before they started filming.

“All the cast and everything [were ready to go] and they just pulled the plug.’

Sad: The Rising – starring Clara Rugaard (left) – will not continue with more seasons after ‘the project was pulled’

Gone: The second season – which would be called Risen – was meant to mark the start of an anthology series for the franchise

The supernatural series is an adaptation of the Belgian thriller Hotel Beau Sejour and was the first series produced entirely by Sky Studios.

Starring Cara as Neve Kelly, the story follows a recently deceased young woman who lives in a kind of purgatory and discovers that her cause of death was murder.

In this liminal space, Kelly uses her newfound supernatural abilities to investigate her demise.

In the process, she must reexamine what she thought she knew about her life.

The Rising’s showrunner Pete McTighe previously teased the second series.

He told Radio Times: ‘I’ve already written a plan for a second [season]and I find it really exciting and interesting.

“I don’t want to say too much because I don’t want to spoil it. I want it to happen.’

MailOnline has contacted Sky for further comment.

Not happening: A TV insider close to the show has now told Variety, ‘It was canceled before they were supposed to start filming’

Idea: The supernatural series is an adaptation of the Belgian thriller Hotel Beau Sejour and was the first series to be fully produced by Sky Studios

Plot: Starring Cara as Neve Kelly, the story follows a recently deceased young woman who lives in a kind of purgatory and learns that her cause of death was murder

Interestingly, in this liminal space, Kelly uses her newfound supernatural abilities to investigate her demise

I Hate Suzie’s Daniel Ings and Silent Witness star Emily Taaffe also starred in the first series.

The series, written by McTighe and Charlotte Wolf, came out last spring after being delayed by Covid.

Principal photography began in May 2021 in the North of England, with filming locations in the Lake District and areas around Manchester.

The eight episodes were split into four film blocks, with each two episodes directed by different directors.

Filming ended in October 2021 with post-production continuing into early 2022, with final image and sound work completed in London.

In Cumbria, a hologram of the protagonist, Neve, was projected onto Derwentwater the day before the series was released.

The figure muttered “come and find me” to passers-by, who were surprised to stumble upon the projection during their morning walk.