{ "id": "epm0z1qcnt", "slug": "passenger", "title": "Passenger", "updated": "2026-11-01", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series", "label": "Series and fictional screen worlds", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv", "label": "Scripted television and comedy series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv.drama-prestige-series", "label": "Drama and prestige series (individual series)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv.drama-prestige-series" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv.drama-prestige-series.science-fiction-horror-and-supernatural", "label": "Science fiction, horror, and supernatural", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv.drama-prestige-series.science-fiction-horror-and-supernatural" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.weu.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv.drama-prestige-series", "label": "Western Europe · 2021 and later: Drama and prestige series (individual series)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv.drama-prestige-series", "path": [ { "id": "geo.weu", "label": "Western Europe", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2021", "label": "Western Europe · 2021 and later", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2021" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2021.culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2021.culture" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2021.culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2021.culture.performance" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2021.culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2021.culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series", "label": "Series and fictional screen worlds", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv", "label": "Scripted television and comedy series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv.drama-prestige-series", "label": "Drama and prestige series (individual series)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv.drama-prestige-series" } ] } ], "excerpt": "Passenger is a 2024 British supernatural crime thriller series created by Andrew Buchan, starring Wunmi Mosaku as DI Riya Ajunwa in the village of Chadder Vale, airing on ITV1, ITVX and BritBox; distinct from the 2026 Paramount horror film and 2023 MGM+ thriller of the same name.", "snippet": "Passenger is a 2024 British supernatural crime thriller series created by Andrew Buchan, starring Wunmi Mosaku as DI Riya Ajunwa in the village of Chadder Vale, airing on ITV1, ITVX and BritBox; distinct from the 2026 Paramount horror film and 2023 MGM+ thriller of the same name.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv.drama-prestige-series.science-fiction-horror-and-supernatural", "markdown": "# Passenger\n\n**Passenger** is a British supernatural crime thriller television series created and written by the actor [Andrew Buchan](https://www.edgepedia.org/andrew-buchan) in his screenwriting debut, broadcast on ITV1 and ITVX from 24 March 2024 and streamed internationally on BritBox. Set in the fictional northern village of Chadder Vale, it follows Detective Inspector Riya Ajunwa, played by [Wunmi Mosaku](https://www.edgepedia.org/wunmi-mosaku), as she investigates the disappearance and inexplicable return of a local girl while strange and increasingly horrific crimes unsettle the close-knit community.[1](https://www.sister.net/work/passenger) • [2](https://www.timeout.com/uk/news/passenger-everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-itv-thriller-series-032224) The title has also been used by several unrelated screen works, including a 2026 Paramount horror film and a 2023 MGM+ thriller, which are described at the end of this article.\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Format | Six episodes[1](https://www.sister.net/work/passenger) |\n| First broadcast | Sunday 24 March 2024 on ITV1 and ITVX; episode two aired Monday 25 March, with the remaining four episodes in the same Sunday/Monday slots over the following fortnight[1](https://www.sister.net/work/passenger) • [2](https://www.timeout.com/uk/news/passenger-everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-itv-thriller-series-032224) |\n| Creator and writer | Andrew Buchan, a Broadchurch actor, in his screenwriting debut[1](https://www.sister.net/work/passenger) • [3](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2024/mar/24/passenger-review-this-supernatural-thriller-is-scarily-fresh) |\n| Lead cast | Wunmi Mosaku as DI Riya Ajunwa; David Threlfall as fracking-site manager Jim Bracknell; Barry Sloane as Eddie Wells; Rowan Robinson as Katie Wells[1](https://www.sister.net/work/passenger) • [2](https://www.timeout.com/uk/news/passenger-everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-itv-thriller-series-032224) |\n| Directors | Lee Haven Jones and Nicole Charles[1](https://www.sister.net/work/passenger) |\n| Production | SISTER in association with Northern Sister; executive producers Lucy Dyke, Simon Maloney and Jane Featherstone; distributed by All3Media International[1](https://www.sister.net/work/passenger) |\n| Setting | Chadder Vale, a fictional village on the Lancashire/Yorkshire border[4](https://www.itv.com/presscentre/presscentre/sites/default/files/2024-03/Passenger.pdf) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Premise\n\nRiya Ajunwa is a former [Metropolitan Police](https://www.edgepedia.org/metropolitan-police) detective who moved to Chadder Vale five years before the story begins, following her husband to his hometown. After the marriage fails, she cares for his mother while her caseload consists mostly of petty local matters such as missing bins and, occasionally, cats. She has been searching for the \"one big crime\" that will make her feel alive again.[1](https://www.sister.net/work/passenger) • [3](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2024/mar/24/passenger-review-this-supernatural-thriller-is-scarily-fresh)\n\n**The inciting case.** One night the local girl Katie Wells is mysteriously abducted; her car is found abandoned with traces of blood on the seats. The village barely registers the disappearance before Katie reappears the next day, safe and sound, 24 hours after she vanished. The residents ask few questions and life resumes, but Riya, a relative outsider, is not convinced, and Katie will not tell her what happened in the forest.[1](https://www.sister.net/work/passenger) • [4](https://www.itv.com/presscentre/presscentre/sites/default/files/2024-03/Passenger.pdf)\n\nAs a series of strange happenings and increasingly horrific crimes unfolds, the residents resort to short-sighted theories and blame outside influences, while Riya fights to convince them that all is not as it seems and is eventually drawn into a universe unlike anything she has seen.[1](https://www.sister.net/work/passenger) The mystery threads connect the disappearances of young people to the local fracking site and an old tree on the town's outskirts, alongside a dead stag on the forest road obliterated \"by someone. Or something,\" and the release from prison of Eddie Wells, Katie's father, whom Riya locked up five years earlier for a drunken crime against Jim Bracknell.[4](https://www.itv.com/presscentre/presscentre/sites/default/files/2024-03/Passenger.pdf)\n\n### Cast and characters\n\n- **Wunmi Mosaku** as DI Riya Ajunwa, the former Met detective and series lead[2](https://www.timeout.com/uk/news/passenger-everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-itv-thriller-series-032224)\n- **David Threlfall** as Jim Bracknell, the unpopular manager of a fracking site near Chadder Vale[2](https://www.timeout.com/uk/news/passenger-everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-itv-thriller-series-032224)\n- **Rowan Robinson** as Katie Wells, the girl who vanishes temporarily and inexplicably[2](https://www.timeout.com/uk/news/passenger-everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-itv-thriller-series-032224)\n- **Barry Sloane** as Eddie Wells, Katie's father, recently released from prison[2](https://www.timeout.com/uk/news/passenger-everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-itv-thriller-series-032224)\n- **Natalie Gavin** as Joanne Wells, Eddie's wife[2](https://www.timeout.com/uk/news/passenger-everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-itv-thriller-series-032224)\n- **Arian Nik** and **Ella Bruccoleri** as trainee officers Nish Chowdry and Ali Day[2](https://www.timeout.com/uk/news/passenger-everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-itv-thriller-series-032224)\n- **Jo Hartley** as Chief Constable Linda Markel[2](https://www.timeout.com/uk/news/passenger-everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-itv-thriller-series-032224)\n- **Daniel Ryan** as Derek Jackson, who runs the local bread factory[4](https://www.itv.com/presscentre/presscentre/sites/default/files/2024-03/Passenger.pdf)\n\n## Production\n\nITV picked up Buchan's debut script in March 2022 as a joint production between BritBox International and ITV; it was the second series ITV took that year from an actor turning screenwriter, after [Suranne Jones](https://www.edgepedia.org/suranne-jones)'s family drama Maryland. Production began in February 2023, with filming in Cornholme, north of Manchester; IMDb lists Todmorden, West Yorkshire, as a filming location.[5](https://www.tellyvisions.org/britboxs-passenger-first-look-cast-premiere/) • [6](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt18827746/) Wunmi Mosaku, known for Luther, Lovecraft Country and Loki, was announced as the lead when filming commenced.[5](https://www.tellyvisions.org/britboxs-passenger-first-look-cast-premiere/)\n\nExecutive producer Lucy Dyke of SISTER described the show as \"a mystery thriller set in a small town just to the north of Manchester\" about the community, a police officer, and strange things happening in the forest. She noted that Buchan had worked with Jane Featherstone for many years on [Broadchurch](https://www.edgepedia.org/broadchurch) and that Passenger was the first thing he had ever written.[4](https://www.itv.com/presscentre/presscentre/sites/default/files/2024-03/Passenger.pdf)\n\nThe [British Board of Film Classification](https://www.edgepedia.org/british-board-of-film-classification) classified the six season-one episodes in March 2024 at roughly 46 minutes each, with content advice covering strong language, gory images of a killed and beheaded stag, and moderate horror scenes.[7](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/passenger-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0xmde5ndix)\n\n## Reception\n\nThe Guardian's Lucy Mangan called the series \"confident, atmospheric and packed with creepy realism\" and \"a convincingly detail-oriented paranormal horror,\" while noting moments that pulled her out of the story, such as Riya's oddly unbothered reaction to the blood in Katie's car.[3](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2024/mar/24/passenger-review-this-supernatural-thriller-is-scarily-fresh) [The Times](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-times) praised the well-written characters and dialogue; Den of Geek called it \"comedic and sinister, with a terrific cast led by Wunmi Mosaku\" and \"a top binge-watch\"; The Independent was more mixed, criticizing the show's surfeit of story threads and lack of the sparseness of great crime drama.[2](https://www.timeout.com/uk/news/passenger-everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-itv-thriller-series-032224) Radio Times gave it four stars out of five, describing it as hard to fit into any single genre category and praising its character study of close-knit English towns.[8](https://tollbit.radiotimes.com/tv/drama/passenger-itv-review/) On IMDb the series holds a rating of 5.8 out of 10 from about 2,500 users.[6](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt18827746/)\n\nReviewers frequently placed the show in a lineage of small-town strangeness: Den of Geek invoked [Twin Peaks](https://www.edgepedia.org/twin-peaks), Happy Valley, and [Stranger Things](https://www.edgepedia.org/stranger-things), while the Yahoo review called it \"Happy Valley meets Twin Peaks in delightfully weird crime drama.\"[9](https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/passenger-review-dont-miss-this-twisty-brit-mystery/) • [10](https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/passenger-review-happy-valley-meets-220000048.html)\n\n## Other works titled Passenger\n\nSeveral unrelated screen works share the title.\n\n**Passenger (2026 film).** A supernatural horror film directed by André Øvredal, starring [Jacob Scipio](https://www.edgepedia.org/jacob-scipio), Lou Llobell, and [Melissa Leo](https://www.edgepedia.org/melissa-leo). A young couple living in a van witness a gruesome highway accident and are pursued by a demonic entity called the Passenger. [Paramount Pictures](https://www.edgepedia.org/paramount-pictures) released it theatrically in the United States on 22 May 2026, with releases in Malaysia on 28 May and India on 29 May, and it premiered on Paramount+ in the United States on 20 August 2026. Empire Magazine praised its \"memorable scares,\" while other reviews, including The Guardian's, were negative.[11](https://www.paramountpressexpress.com/paramount-plus/releases/?view=113120-passenger-makes-exclusive-streaming-premiere-on-paramount-august-20) • [12](https://www.moviebuff.com/passenger-2026-english) • [13](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2026/may/21/passenger-movie-review-horror)\n\n**The Passenger (2023 film).** An MGM+ thriller, 120 minutes long, which premiered on 4 August 2023. It stars [Kyle Gallner](https://www.edgepedia.org/kyle-gallner) as Benson and [Johnny Berchtold](https://www.edgepedia.org/johnny-berchtold) as Randy, a coworker forced to confront his troubled past after Benson goes on a violent rampage.[14](https://paramountglobalcontent.com/title/passenger-the)\n\n**The Passenger (2026 thriller).** A mystery thriller directed by Vadim Perelman, running 1 hour 32 minutes, in which a struggling airport shuttle driver in [Minneapolis](https://www.edgepedia.org/minneapolis), played by Djimon Hounsou, illegally takes a stranded twenty-something, played by Kodi Smit-McPhee, to Chicago. It streams on Prime Video.[15](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_passenger_2026)\n\n**Passengers (2020–2022).** A Russian drama-mystery series, original title Passazhiry, created by Ruslan Sorokin and starring Kirill Käro, produced by START Studio, with 30-minute episodes about a taxi driver with strange clients.[16](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13711860)\n\nThe ITV series should also not be confused with the earlier British reality series Passengers, which ran on Channel 4 in the 1990s and was revived in the early 2000s.[5](https://www.tellyvisions.org/britboxs-passenger-first-look-cast-premiere/)\n\n## References\n\n1. [Passenger (TV Series), SISTER](https://www.sister.net/work/passenger)\n2. [Passenger: everything you need to know about the ITV thriller series, Time Out](https://www.timeout.com/uk/news/passenger-everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-itv-thriller-series-032224)\n3. [Passenger review – this supernatural thriller is scarily fresh, The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2024/mar/24/passenger-review-this-supernatural-thriller-is-scarily-fresh)\n4. [Passenger press pack, ITV Press Centre](https://www.itv.com/presscentre/presscentre/sites/default/files/2024-03/Passenger.pdf)\n5. [BritBox Releases First Look at Dark Comedy Thriller 'Passenger', Telly Visions](https://www.tellyvisions.org/britboxs-passenger-first-look-cast-premiere/)\n6. [Passenger (TV Series 2024), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt18827746/)\n7. [Passenger, British Board of Film Classification](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/passenger-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0xmde5ndix)\n8. [Passenger review: Wunmi Mosaku shines, Radio Times](https://tollbit.radiotimes.com/tv/drama/passenger-itv-review/)\n9. [Passenger Review: Don't Miss This Twisty Brit Mystery, Den of Geek](https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/passenger-review-dont-miss-this-twisty-brit-mystery/)\n10. [Passenger, review: Happy Valley meets Twin Peaks, Yahoo](https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/passenger-review-happy-valley-meets-220000048.html)\n11. [Passenger Makes Exclusive Streaming Premiere on Paramount+ August 20, Paramount Press Express](https://www.paramountpressexpress.com/paramount-plus/releases/?view=113120-passenger-makes-exclusive-streaming-premiere-on-paramount-august-20)\n12. [Passenger (2026), Moviebuff](https://www.moviebuff.com/passenger-2026-english)\n13. [Passenger review – generic jumpscare horror, The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2026/may/21/passenger-movie-review-horror)\n14. [The Passenger, Paramount Global Content](https://paramountglobalcontent.com/title/passenger-the)\n15. [The Passenger (2026), Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_passenger_2026)\n16. [Passengers (TV Series 2020–2022), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13711860)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Scripted television and comedy series › Drama and prestige series (individual series) › Science fiction, horror, and supernatural*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/passenger", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/passenger.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"Passenger\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/passenger. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[Passenger](https://www.edgepedia.org/passenger)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/passenger](https://www.edgepedia.org/passenger). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"Passenger\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/passenger. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "Passenger is a 2024 British supernatural crime thriller series created by Andrew Buchan, starring Wunmi Mosaku as DI Riya Ajunwa in the village of Chadder Vale, airing on ITV1, ITVX and BritBox; distinct from the 2026 Paramount horror film and 2023 MGM+ thriller of the same name." }