Wreck (2022), Episode 1 – Ship Of Dreams

Coming soon to BBC is a new series from creator Ryan J. Brown (“Another Life (Short)”) called Wreck, set on board the Velorum ship, the Sacramentum.

We kick things off with Pippa, Jodie Tyack (“The Window (TV)”, “Agatha Raisin (TV)”), though not for very long as she is promptly dispatched by someone in a fluffy yellow duck costume. The fluffy duck person has a knife, but Pippa isn’t going to let that be the way she goes.

Anyway, fast forward three months and we’re back onboard the ship but this time with Cormac, Oscar Kennedy (“School’s Out Forever”, “Ladhood (TV)”), as he begins his time onboard the Sacramentum.

Except, Cormac isn’t who he says he is, he’s actually Jamie and he’s actually Pippa’s brother. He’s come onboard to try and find out what happened to her, he’s not convinced that she jumped off the ship by her own volition and is here to find out the truth.

His main point of call is Danny, Jack Rowan (“Peaky Blinders (TV)”, “Noughts + Crosses (TV)”), who was Pippa’s ex-boyfriend. Danny is friends with the “in crowd” onboard the ship which includes; Sophia, Alice Nokes (“The Spanish Princess (TV)”, “Ted Lasso (TV)”), and Bethany-May, Ali Hardiman (“The Bright Side”, “Blasts from the Past (TV)”), all three acting weird and mentioning Pippa.

Jamie makes friends with Vivian, Thaddea Graham (“Doctor Who (TV)”, “Curfew (TV)”), who is onboard running away from her family. He has to tell her who he really is and what he’s doing when she finds the real Cormac, Peter Claffey (“Bad Sisters (TV)”, “Harry Wild (TV)”), in his cabin.

Cormac was meant to be staying at home, that’s what Jamie paid him to do, but instead he’s rocked up on the ship, which causes no-end of agro and no doubt will in the future.

This episode is directed by Chris Baugh (“Bad Day for the Cut”, “Boys from County Hell”) who handles things well. However, it’s very obvious that the set is actually a shopping centre whilst some of the other parts look like an office block.

That aside, it’s not a bad start to the series. The jokes don’t always land as the writers would perhaps hope and you get the impression some of the characters aren’t going to be around for long, but let’s see how things pan out.