Riviera’s Paul McGuinness & Kris Thykier

Riviera executive producers Paul McGuinness and Kris Thykier tell TV Drama’s Mansha Daswani about maintaining the show’s momentum and how they’ve gone even bigger for the glossy thriller’s second round.

The big-budget drama Riviera is back for a sophomore run that McGuinness and Thykier promise will be even glitzier than its first. The series’ ethos is embedded in the glamorous lifestyles of the rich and famous who’ve made the French Riviera their playground, and the show’s central figure, art curator Georgina Clios (Julia Stiles), finds herself entangled in the region’s sordid underbelly.

Riviera follows as Georgina’s husband Constantine, a billionaire banker, dies in a yacht explosion (how else?), leaving her behind to pick up the pieces of her shattered life as she unravels the secrets of his death and, incidentally, his past. Her journey is complicated by her late husband’s ex-wife and children—one of whom is played by Game of Thrones’ Iwan Rheon—and she soon finds herself in danger. Will Arnett (Arrested Development) leads the pack of talent set to join the already star-studded cast for the second season.

Riviera was Sky’s most successful original series ever, with a first season that drew an average of 2.3 million viewers an episode. The show returns to Sky for season two on May 23.