Yahoo News Julia Stiles confirms talk of Riviera season 2
The road to getting Riviera from page to screen was rocky, but that doesn't mean Sky Atlantic has any plans to scrap the show.
In fact, quite the opposite! Speaking recently to Collider, cast member Julia Stiles tipped that Sky is in talks to continue Riviera following its first series transmitting over the summer.
"It's not official, but I think we're going to make more of Riviera," she said, adding: "In an ideal world, I'll be bringing my little newborn to France."
The possibility of a second season of Riviera is intriguing, considering that showrunner Neil Jordan - of The Borgias fame - publicly complained that the final product was not his original vision.
"The first two episodes that myself and John wrote were very dark and complex, and that's what got everybody attracted to the project in the first place," he alleged.
"Sky Atlantic got involved because of these scripts. But then the producers decided to go in a different direction. The two episodes we wrote together were reworked by others, after I pulled out. They were changed, to my huge surprise and considerable upset.
"There were various sexual scenes introduced into the story and a lot of very expository dialogue. I objected in the strongest terms possible. It was quite distressing for John and for myself, the way it proceeded."
Executive producer Paul McGuinness promptly responded by saying: "Making a show of the scale of Riviera is inevitably a team effort. Neil co-wrote the first two episodes with John Banville.
"The show is the most successful premiere on Sky Atlantic this year. I couldn't be more proud of what we have achieved."
Shortly after the controversy erupted, star Iwan Rheon admitted to Digital Spy that the finished Riviera was indeed "very different" to the original scripts he'd read.
"That's how these shows go," he shrugged. "They were still writing as we were filming. You have to expect things to change, because the writers come up with different ideas of how they want the series to go.
"So yeah, it did change, quite a lot actually, from when I first read it, but that's something I've grown accustomed to now. It's quite rare on a television series that you get the entire set of scripts [for a series] before you start shooting."
In addition to airing on Sky Atlantic in the UK, Riviera is available to stream in the US on Sundance Now.
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