The story
Whitechapel, 1889: six months after the Ripper murders, the East End is still on edge, and every fresh killing revives the old terror. Detective Inspector Edmund Reid and his blunt sergeant Bennet Drake, helped by an American former army surgeon with a shady past, police London's poorest streets with the latest forensic methods, moving through bare-knuckle boxing dens, brothels and the murky early days of photography and film.
Why it matters
Ripper Street showed a British drama could outlive a broadcaster's retreat. Once a third BBC series looked dead because of ratings, Amazon funded the show, a deal Variety compared to Netflix's backing of Arrested Development, and premiered its later series online months before they reached BBC viewers.
How it was rescued
After two series on BBC One, it was reported on 4 December 2013 that a third would not be made because of low viewing figures for series two. Producer Tiger Aspect then negotiated with LoveFilm, and in February 2014 Amazon confirmed it would resurrect the show; series three began streaming on Amazon UK Prime Instant Video on 14 November 2014, months before BBC One aired it.
Filed under: Cancelled, then revived online
Notable facts
- Series three reached Amazon UK on 14 November 2014, more than eight months before BBC One broadcast it. (source)
- Variety likened the funding talks to Netflix paying for new episodes of Arrested Development. (source)
- It was voted best show of 2013 in a Radio Times readers' poll, ahead of Doctor Who. (source)
- In June 2015 it was renewed for both a fourth and a fifth series. (source)