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BBC’s The Rapture Debuts as a Climate-Driven Five-Part Thriller

The new series aims to make climate anxiety accessible through a propulsive mystery that the makers say will prompt conversation rather than preach to viewers.

Overview

  • The Rapture premiered on BBC One and iPlayer on Sunday, July 26, 2026, as a five-part psychological thriller adapted from Liz Jensen’s 2009 novel.
  • The plot follows forensic psychologist Gabs Fox, played by Ruth Madeley, who investigates 17-year-old Bethany Krall, played by India Amarteifio, an inmate who claims to see visions of future disasters.
  • Creators including adapter Bryony Kimmings and author Liz Jensen have framed the show as a timely, relatable way to surface climate anxiety and greenwashing without heavy-handed polemic.
  • Early responses have been split between viewers praising its gripping pace and cast and critics who call its tone pulpy and at times lightweight rather than deeply serious.
  • The series uses a record UK heatwave and a cast of institutions—fossil-fuel interests, a faith movement and activist groups—to link personal trauma with wider systemic questions and to encourage public conversation about climate risks.