Watch: Behind the scenes of HBO’s The Third Day

In this ground-breaking series, Jude Law stars as Sam, a grieving London man who rescues a young girl in the woods. He returns her to her home on Britain’s Osea Island (which, yes, is a real place), where he encounters a group of secretive locals, including Emily Watson’s Mrs Martin, preparing for an ominous festival that celebrates the island’s history.

The longer he stays, the more desperate Sam becomes to return to the mainland – before realising that the island is impossible to escape. He can see the mainland from the island’s beach, but it seems that the locals will do whatever it takes to keep him from leaving.

This all takes place in the first half of The Third Day, called Summer. The second half of the miniseries is set during winter, and follows young mother Helen (Naomie Harris) as she takes her two daughters on a surprise birthday trip to Osea Island, where she finds resistance at every turn.

The video below goes into fascinating detail about what filming on the actual island entailed for cast and crew, such as having to transport equipment by boat from the mainland when the ancient causeway was closed, swimming in ice-cold water while the tide went out, and being scratched from head to toe by thorny brambles after a scene set in the island’s woods.

In the video, Jude Law calls it the most challenging role of his entire career, and after this glimpse behind the scenes, it’s not difficult to see why.

New episodes of The Third Day land every week on Showmax and on DStv.