<P> Ripper Street is a British TV series set in Whitechapel in the East End of London and starring Matthew Macfadyen, Jerome Flynn, and Adam Rothenberg . It begins in 1889, six months after the infamous Jack the Ripper murders . The first episode was broadcast on 30 December 2012 during BBC One's Christmas schedule and was first broadcast in the United States on BBC America on 19 January 2013 . Ripper Street returned for a second eight - part series on 28 October 2013 . </P> <P> On 4 December 2013, it was reported that a third series would not be made due to low viewing figures for series two . Then on 11 December 2013, Variety reported negotiations between the show's producer Tiger Aspect and LoveFilm to fund future episodes, similar to Netflix funding episodes of Arrested Development . On 26 February 2014, it was confirmed that Amazon Video would resurrect the show . Filming began in May 2014 . Series three began streaming on Amazon UK Prime Instant Video on 14 November 2014 but has not been made available on Amazon's US site . The third series began airing on BBC America on 29 April 2015, and on BBC One on 31 July 2015 . </P> <P> In June 2015, the series was renewed for a fourth and fifth series . In 2016, it was announced that the show would end with the fifth series . Series 4 premiered on Amazon UK on 15 January 2016, on BBC America on 28 July 2016, and in the United Kingdom on BBC Two from 22 August 2016 . The concluding fifth series premiered in full (six episodes) on Amazon UK on 12 October 2016 . </P> <P> The series begins in April 1889, six months since the last Jack the Ripper killing, and in Whitechapel the H Division is responsible for policing one and a quarter square miles of East London: a district with a population of 67,000 poor and dispossessed . The men of H Division had hunted the Ripper and failed to find him . When more women are murdered on the streets of Whitechapel, the police begin to wonder if the killer has returned . </P>

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