When will the Alex Rider TV series be released?
Everything you need to know about the new Amazon Prime television adaptation of the Anthony Horowitz Young Adult spy series.
The best-selling adventures of Anthony Horowitz’s teenage spy Alex Rider has been adapted for television – and the series boasts a starry cast including Line of Duty and Game of Thrones actors.
Unbeknownst to Alex, his aloof uncle and reluctant guardian Ian has secretly been training him throughout his childhood for the dangerous world of espionage.
Alex must suddenly leave his fairly ordinary life behind to go on a dangerous mission as an undercover agent at a school called Point Blanc academy. During the investigation, he must call upon skills he didn’t even know he had as he seeks to unveil the sinister truth behind the school.
But who is playing the titular hero? And which book is the series based on?
Alex Rider TV series on Amazon: When is it out?
Alex Rider will premiere on Amazon Prime Video in the UK on 4th June, with all eight episodes available for UK Prime members to stream.
Alex Rider trailer
You can watch the intriguing, action-packed trailer for Alex Rider below.
Alex Rider books: Which novel is the show based on?
The Alex Rider television drama is based on Point Blanc, the second book in Anthony Horowitz’s Young Adult series of novels, which has sold a total of over 19 million copies worldwide.
Here's our guide to the Alex Rider TV show's differences to the books. You can buy the 10-book collection on Amazon here.
Alex Rider cast: Who appears in the series?
Otto Farrant (Mrs Wilson, Marcella, War & Peace) leads the Alex Rider cast as the show's titular hero, with Brenock O’Connor (Game of Thrones) as his jovial best friend Tom and Andrew Buchan, (Broadchurch, The ABC Murders) as Alex’s uncle Ian Rider.
Stephen Dillane (Game of Thrones's Stannis Baratheon) is Alan Blunt, the coercive head of secret MI6 offshoot The Department, with Vicky McClure (Line of Duty) as Blunt’s second-in-command Mrs Jones, who does her best to keep Alex safe from harm.
McClure’s fellow Line of Duty star Ace Bhatti and Black Earth Rising actor Nyasha Hatendi will also star as Mrs Jones’s colleagues John Crawley and Smithers.
Rounding off the cast are Ronkẹ Adékoluẹjo (Doctor Who) as Alex’s housekeeper Jack Starbright, Marli Siu (The Sopranos), Earl Cave (Born to Kill), Katrin Vankova (Snatch), Nathan Clarke (Tyrant) and Talitha Wing (The Feed) as troublesome teenagers at the Point Blanc academy, Haluk Bilginer (Halloween) as corrupt principal Dr Greif and Ana Ularu (Siberia) as his manipulative deputy Eva Stellenbosh.
Who wrote the Alex Rider books?
Anthony Horowitz is the author of the Alex Rider spy series and will serve as executive producer on the drama. Secret Weapon, the latest book in the series, was published in April 2019 and Horowitz’s 12th Alex Rider novel, Nightshade, is due in 2020. The series has sold over 19 million copies worldwide.
Horowitz has also written young adult series The Diamond Brothers and The Power of Five.
His novels for adults include two Sherlock Holmes books – The House of Silk and Moriarty – and two books featuring his own detectives, Magpie Murders and The Word Is Murder.
Adding to his spy credentials, Horowitz was chosen to write new James Bond novels by the Ian Fleming estate, starting with Trigger Mortis.
Aside from literature, Horowitz created and wrote the ITV series Foyle’s War, Collision and Injustice and the BBC series New Blood.
Alex Rider movie: Is it connected to the TV show?
In 2006 the Alex Rider series was adapted into a film titled Stormbreaker starring Magic Mike actor Alex Pettyfer. However, the new TV show is a totally unrelated adaptation and is not a sequel to the movie.
Check out what else is on with our TV Guide
Alex Rider will premiere on Amazon Prime Video in the UK on 4th June, you can buy the 10-book collection on Amazon here.
