Winter TCA: Jack is back in BBC America's "Ripper Street"

Winter TCA: Jack is back in BBC America’s “Ripper Street”

By Greg Braxton

Jan. 5, 2013 12 AM PT

Jack the Ripper, who has been the focus of numerous book and films including “Time After Time” and “From Hell,” will return to prime time in BBC America’s “Ripper Street.”

But the infamous serial killer will be mostly a supporting presence. The new show, which is set in and around Whitechapel in London’s East End in 1889, during the aftermath of the infamous Jack The Ripper Murders, will focus on the notorious H Division, which is charged with keeping order in the chaotic East London streets.

“The whole idea is to tell stories about the streets where he walked,” said series creator Richard Warlow.

The atmosphere and the tension between the detectives will be the key to the series, as well as exploring London in those times.

Said executive producer Will Gould: “It was a time of great change in the way police were working. It was 10 years away from fingerprinting. These guys were working at the edge of the modern age.” Early forensic methods, including the early typewriter, will play a part in the investigations.

The series stars Matthew Macfayden, Jerome Flynn and Adam Rothenberg.

Flynn said the continuing mystery around Jack the Ripper will obviously attract the fans. “The fact that he was never caught is still a mystery,” he said. “We don’t even know if it was a him. He was never caught.”

The three main stars said that even though the premise is morbid, there was a lot of lightness on the set, due mainly to their great chemistry. Said Macfayden: “The blacker the subject, the more hilarity there was on set.”

Will the identity of Jack ever be revealed? Quipped Gould: “If we work it out, we’ll have a Christmas special.”