| Native Name: |
| ||
| Genre: | police procedural | ||
| Creator: | Ed Talfan Ed Thomas | ||
| Country: | Wales | ||
| Num Series: | 3 | ||
| Num Episodes: | 26 | ||
| Executive Producer: | Ed Thomas | ||
| Runtime: | 90 minutes | ||
| Related: | Hidden |
Hinterland cy|'''Y Gwyll'''|the dusk[1] in the original Welsh language version is a Welsh noir[1] police procedural series broadcast on S4C in Welsh. The main character, DCI Tom Mathias, is played by Richard Harrington.[2] On 27 November 2013, a second series was announced by S4C.[3] The English-language version, with brief passages of Welsh dialogue, aired on BBC One Wales. When it was shown on the BBC in 2014, it was the first BBC television drama with dialogue in both English and Welsh.[4] A third series of the show began filming in January 2016[5] and debuted on S4C on 30 October.[6]
The programme is set in Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, Wales, and the three series were filmed in and around the town, often in rural locations.[7] [8] [9]
The critical reaction to Hinterland was favourable. Wales Arts Review wrote: "Y Gwyll has been shot with real intelligence; simple, subtle and with both eyes focused on the feeding of the atmospheric cloud over the piece."[10] [11]
Hinterland went on to be shown in 150 countries.
The series reflects the commitment made in April 2013 by the Director of BBC Cymru Wales, Rhodri Talfan Davies, to show more Welsh language, life, and culture on the mainstream BBC channels.
On a tight budget, funds that took two and a half years to raise, the total production cost was £4.2 million.[12] The programme-makers received £215,000 in repayable business funding from the Welsh Government, and the first series was mainly filmed in Aberystwyth and the surrounding county of Ceredigion on the west coast of Wales, over a 124‑day period in 2013. The show was filmed in both Welsh and English, with the location-based production offices contained within the former Ceredigion Council offices Swyddfa'r Sir, which also acts as the exterior of the show's police station.[13]
Each scene was filmed twice, in the English and Welsh languages, apart from a few scenes where Welsh with subtitles is used for the English version.[14]
The Welsh version was broadcast (in eight parts) on S4C in October 2013, with the bilingual version (in four parts) broadcast on BBC One Wales in January 2014 and on BBC Four later that year.[15] Danmarks Radio (DR), acquired the rights in 2012 to broadcast the show in Denmark,[16] before filming had commenced.
| Actor | Character | Series | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Special | 2 | 3 | ||
| Thomas Mathias | colspan="4" | ||||
| Mared Rhys | colspan="4" | ||||
| Alex Harries | Lloyd Ellis | colspan="4" | |||
| Siân Owens | colspan="4" | ||||
| Brian Prosser | colspan="4" | ||||
| Meg Mathias | colspan="1" | ||||
| Geraint Morgan | Iwan Thomas | colspan="2" | |||
| Manon | |||||
| Series | Episodes | Originally aired | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First aired | Last aired | ||||
| 1 | 8 | ||||
| 2 | 10 | ||||
| 3 | 8 | ||||
| Episode | Title | Director | Writers | Original air date | Viewers (millions)[17] |
|---|
| Episode | Title | Director | Writers | Original air date | Viewers (millions) |
|---|
| Episode | Title | Director | Writers | Original air date | Viewers (millions) |
|---|
Acorn Home Video released Series 1 on 1 July 2014, but no further series releases until Acorn-TV released the Complete Series on 16 November 2021.
Arrow Films released Series 1 on 26 May 2014; Series 2 on 30 May 2016; Series 3 and the Trilogy Complete Series on 29 May 2017.
Just Bridge Entertainment released Series 1 on 21 October 2014; Series 2 on 24 January 2017; Series 1-3 in 2018.
Polyband/WVG released Series 1 on 9 August 2015, Series 2 on 5 September 2016. Series 3 was never released, nor a compete series.
Acorn Home Video released Series 1 in 2014; Series 2 on 6 July 2016; Series 3 and the Trilogy Complete Series on 7 June 2017.