BBC One‘s Danny Cohen and Ben Stephenson today confirmed a second season order of crime drama Ripper Street, just as the first season heads into the home stretch in the UK. The BBC America co-production will start shooting eight new episodes this spring for an as-yet unspecified 2014 air date. Ripper Street debuted on BBC America on January 19, three weeks after its UK bow on BBC One where it has faced tough competition from rival ITV’s Jeremy Piven period drama Mr Selfridge in the same timeslot. However, it’s been gaining in recent weeks for a consolidated average of 7.1M viewers and a 22.9% share over its first five outings. Richard Warlow created and exec produces the series that stars Matthew Macfadyen, Jerome Flynn and Adam Rothenberg in 1889 London and the aftermath of the Jack the Ripper murders. Warlow said today that the second season will “move forward into the 1890s: the death rattle of a century coming to a close, the labor pains of a modern world on the rise.” Executive producer Simon Vaughn said, “Partnering with BBC America was always our ideal scenario and it has proven to be a wonderful decision. They have given the series an amazing launch in America and we are delighted to be moving into series two together.” Ripper Street is produced by Tiger Aspect and Lookout Point in association with BBC America. Will Gould and Polly Hill also exec produce. BBC Worldwide distributes internationally.
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