When it comes to ITV’s roster of upcoming TV shows, thrillers are very much the theme du jour – but their newest title has added its own unique twist to the genre.

Written by debut screenwriter Andrew Buchan (who is best known for his acting roles on Broadchurch, The Honourable Woman, and Better), Passenger promises to deliver all the chilling suspense of a classic thriller as well as plenty of dark comedy, too.

Here’s what you need to know.

What’s Passenger about?

Set in a small village (the kind which features an almost worryingly close-knit community), Passenger begins as one of its local girls, Katie Wells, is mysteriously abducted.

“Her car is found abandoned and there are traces of blood on the seats,” reads the official synopsis, “but the village barely has time to register Katie’s disappearance before she reappears the next day, safe and sound.”

Life continues as normal for the village; they ask little to no questions, and move on. Ex-police detective Riya Ajunwa, however, fights hard to convince everyone that all is not as it seems. That the abduction is just the latest in a series of strange and horrific happenings. That outside influences, despite the villagers’ short-sighted theories, are not to blame.

Before too long, she is drawn into a universe unlike anything she has ever seen. And it seems as if her dream of finding that ‘one big crime’, that one challenge that will make her feel alive again, might just come true…

Who stars in Passenger?

Bafta-winning actress Wunmi Mosaku (Loki, Damilola, Our Loved Boy) will take the role of Riya Ajunwa, whilst David Threlfall (Shameless, Funny Woman) stars as Jim Bracknell – a character about whom nothing has been revealed so far.

We will bring you more casting details as and when they become available.

What are people saying about Passenger?

“I feel very lucky and very flattered [that ITV has] gone with these scripts and I’m going to work my backside off to make them the best they can be,” says Buchan.

“I’ve always loved shows where the known collides with the unknown… where you see communities faced with something horrifying and inexplicable, where, as a viewer, you’ve nothing in your kit-bag to explain it.

“When I started writing the scripts, I wanted to create something epic and unknown but also bed it somewhere close to home. Having grown up in Lancashire it felt like the perfect place for it. We’ll definitely see the residents of Chadder Vale pushed to their limits.”

When and where can we watch Passenger?

Filming has only just begun on the six-episode series in Cornholme, north of Manchester, so we don’t have a release date just yet.

We do know, though, that Passenger will be an ITVX premiere and will also air on ITV1. The drama will be available in BritBox international markets at a later date.

Images: Getty