Y Gwyll

Y Gwyll
Also known as	Hinterland
Genre	Crime drama
Created by	Ed Talfan Ed Thomas
Starring	Richard Harrington Mali Harries Alex Harries Hannah Daniel Aneirin Hughes Anamaria Marinca
Country of origin	Wales
Original language(s)	Welsh English
No. of series	2
No. of episodes	9 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Ed Thomas
Producer(s)	Gethin Scourfield Ed Talfan
Location(s)	Aberystwyth, Wales
Running time	60 minutes (inc. adverts)
Production company(s)	Fiction Factory
Distributor	All3Media International
Release
Original network	S4C
Picture format	1080i (16:9 HDTV)
Original release	29 October 2013 – present

Y Gwyll (English translation: The Dusk^[1]), titled in the English-language version Hinterland, is a Celtic noir^[2] police detective drama series broadcast on S4C in Welsh. The main character, DCI Tom Mathias, is played by Richard Harrington.^[3] On 27 November 2013, a second series was announced by S4C.^[4] An English language version, with brief passages of Welsh dialogue, aired on BBC One Wales. When it was aired on the BBC in 2014, it was the first BBC television drama with dialogue in both English and Welsh.^[5] A third series of the show began filming in January 2016.^[6]

Production

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.^[5]

On a tight budget—which funds that took two and a half years to raise —the total production cost was £4.2 million.^[7] The programme makers received £215,000 in repayable business funding from the Welsh Government and was mainly filmed in Aberystwyth and the surrounding Ceredigion region 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 external scene of the show's police station.

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.^[8] The broadcaster which produced The Killing, Danmarks Radio (DR), acquired the rights in 2012 to broadcast the show in Denmark,^[9] before filming had commenced.^[5]

Cast

• Richard Harrington – DCI Tom Mathias
• Mali Harries – DI Mared Rhys
• Alex Harries – DC Lloyd Elis
• Hannah Daniel – DS Siân Owens
• Aneirin Hughes – CS Brian Prosser
• Anamaria Marinca - Meg Mathias

Episodes

Series 1 (2013)

Episode	Title	Director	Writers	Original air date	Viewers (millions)[10]
1	"Devil's Bridge"	Marc Evans	David Joss Buckley & Ed Thomas	29 October 2013 (Part 1) 31 October 2013 (Part 2)	0.62 (Part 1) N/A (Part 2)
On his first day in his new job in Aberystwyth, DCI Tom Mathias is called out to investigate a suspicious disappearance. In a quiet seaside bungalow, he discovers a bathroom covered in blood but no sign of the resident owner, Helen Jenkins. Discovering that Jenkins was once the manager of a children's home, DCI Mathias and DI Mared Rhys venture up into the mountains, where DCI Mathias uncovers evidence which suggests Helen has been thrown from the parapet at Devil's Bridge into the water below. The subsequent investigation leads Mathias to investigate former residents of the home, who have since gone on to blow the whistle on the illegal activities which took place during Helen's tenure. As the case becomes increasingly complicated, Mathias discovers that a deranged woman whose baby was stillborn may hold the key to an otherwise impenetrable case.
2	"Night Music"	Gareth Bryn	Ed Talfan	5 November 2013 (Part 1) 7 November 2013 (Part 2)	0.49 (Part 1) N/A (Part 2)
DCI Mathias investigates the brutal murder of 69-year-old Idris Williams, who was found bludgeoned to death in his farmhouse on the Aberystwyth mountains. Despite the lack of an apparent motive for the attack, the disappearance of camera equipment and one picture from the victim's dark room suggest that whilst photographing the local landscape, Williams pictured something that nobody wanted him to see. As the investigation progresses, information regarding the deep and twisted family history of local farmhands begins to offer up further suspects, and the disappearance of three prisoners from a POW camp back in 1943 provides a vital lead in uncovering the killer's identity. Before the killer is caught, however, a second victim is kidnapped from the nearby guild, and Mathias realises that time is running out to find the victim alive.
3	"Penwyllt"	Rhys Powys	David Joss Buckley & Ed Thomas	12 November 2013 (Part 1) 14 November 2013 (Part 2)	N/A (Part 1) 0.40 (Part 2)
In the isolated village of Penwyllt, the body of a young labourer, Michael Reynolds, is found in the murky depths of a quarry lake. Initial forensics reveal that Reynolds did not drown where he was found, as water samples found in his lungs contain traces of sheep urine and faeces. As the investigation draws DCI Mathias into the heart of the close-knit community, he discovers that Reynolds was having an affair with the wife of the local pub landlord, and was taking the son of one of his co-workers deep into the forest to visit an hermetic villager, who some years previously had torched his own home and nearly killed his estranged wife and two children. When the body of a second victim is found in a nearby garage, Mathias goes against the advice of Prosser - but his continued digging eventually uncovers the scene where Reynolds was killed and who was responsible.
4	"The Girl In The Water"	Ed Thomas	Jeff Murphy	19 November 2013 (Part 1) 21 November 2013 (Part 2)	0.42 (Part 1) 0.34 (Part 2)
The carefully posed body of a young woman in a red dress is found in Borth marshes. Initial suspicion points towards an ex-boyfriend, who was assaulted by the girl's father shortly before the girl died, and whose alibi is false. However, Mathias soon discovers the girl was also romantically involved with her university professor, who had tried to end their relationship on the night she died. As Mathias begins to grow close to the girl's grieving mother, he realises the investigation has missed one key suspect. However, when he tries to look into the suspect's past, Prosser questions Mathias' actions. After Mathias discovers a plot to murder a second victim, he becomes determined to catch the culprit and save the intended target - but the case pushes him to the edge, both personally and professionally.

Series 2 (2015)

Episode	Title	Director	Writers	Original air date	Viewers (millions)[10]
1	"In the Dead of Night"	Ed Thomas	Jeff Murphy	1 January 2015	0.39
Special feature-length episode. With blood on his hands, and his future hanging in the balance, DCI Mathias is forced to return to the front line after an arson attack on an isolated farmhouse leaves a mother and child fighting for their lives. Drawn into a community of failing farms and long-standing feuds, what is it about the case that draws Mathias in, pulling him back from the brink? With Prosser casting eyes from all sides, Mathias is forced to juggle the current investigation while recovering the remains of his tattered reputation.
2	"Ceredigion"	Gareth Bryn	Debbie Moon	13 September 2015 (Part 1) 20 September 2015 (Part 2)	0.44 (Part 1) 0.36 (Part 2)
Mathias finds that his world has been turned upside down after his wife Meg turns up in Aberystwyth, and an investigation by the IPCC into his conduct is about to reach its conclusion. But when a bus driver is found shot dead on an isolated mountainside, the investigation provides a welcome escape. The team have a suspect to question, but Mathias believes he is an unlikely killer. In his current state of mind, Mathias is fascinated by the lifestyle choices taken by ex-soldier John Bell. He also knows that he cannot avoid Meg for much longer.
3	"The Tale of Nant Gwrtheyrn"	Julian Jones	Eoin McNamee	27 September 2015 (Part 1) 4 October 2015 (Part 2)	0.35 (Part 1) 0.32 (Part 2)
The murder of a local dignitary and barrister leads to the uncovering of a tragic story of love and loss, fueled by distrust and suspicion in the depths of the hinterland. Why were Nora and Daniel living such a secluded life? What has Mathias discovered in the garden? Will he find Daniel before Glyn Powell gets hold of him? The clock is ticking, but Mathias knows the relationship between Branwen Powell and Daniel is key to uncovering the truth.
4	"Dark River"	Ed Thomas	Sue Everett	11 October 2015 (Part 1) 18 October 2015 (Part 2)	N/A
The discovery of a body in a lake leads to an investigation about a local teacher from a small rural school. What is Gwilym's secret? Who is Ben Willis? Why did another ex-teacher commit suicide? Who is the mysterious girl, and why is she hiding from Mathias? Is Greta still alive? This is a world rife with secrets. Will Mathias and the team unravel them in time, or is it already too late?
5	"The Sound of Souls"	Ed Thomas	Ed Talfan	25 October 2015 (Part 1) 1 November 2015 (Part 2)	N/A
A burnt body on the dunes embroils the team in a long standing family feud associated with the murder of a young mother, 13 years earlier. Mathias is convinced the young woman's murder holds the answers, but Prosser isn't keen on Mathias' delving into the past. Will Mathias discover the truth of the matter, or will the person who's stalking him get in his way?

International broadcasters

Television channels

• Belgium: the Flemish public broadcasting organization VRT started airing the Welsh-language version on 14 July 2014.^[11]
• Denmark: DR broadcast the bilingual version, with the title "Mord i Wales", on 12, 19 and 26 May and 2 June 2014.
• Finland: YLE premiered the bilingual version, with the title "Syrjäinen maa", on 12 October 2014.^[12]
• A German-dubbed version, with the title Inspector Mathias – Mord in Wales, started on German television Das Erste on 12 July 2015.^[13]
• Norway: NRK premiered the bilingual version on 11 April 2014.
• Poland: Ale Kino+ broadcast the first series in the bilingual version, titled Hinterland, on 5, 12, 19 and 26 November 2014.^[14]
• Slovenia: The bilingual version premiered on RTVSLO, their public broadcaster on 14 April 2014, with the title "Zločini v Walesu" (Crimes in Wales). The four-part first series continued on 21, 28 April and 5 May respectively. The first series was repeated the following year in April and May.^[15]
• The Netherlands: KRO premiered the bilingual version on 20 May 2014.
• United Kingdom: The bilingual version was screened UK-wide on BBC Four in 2014, with the first episode on 28 April.^[16]

Netflix

On-demand streaming service Netflix streams both series online across Japan, North America, and South America. The version available on Netflix differs from those originally transmitted in the United Kingdom and is almost exclusively an English language version, excluding the Welsh language with one exception: where a spoken Welsh poem is badly mistranslated in the closed captions and erroneously listed as "[Speaking German]".^[17]

References

1. Rochland, Margy (August 9, 2014). "Straight Out of Wales, With Murders, The Dark ‘Hinterland’ Doubles as a Travelogue". New York Times.
2. Rochland, Margy (August 9, 2014). "Straight Out of Wales, With Murders, The Dark ‘Hinterland’ Doubles as a Travelogue". New York Times.
3. "Characters". S4C. Retrieved 28 January 2014.
4. "Aberystwyth police drama Y Gwyll gets second series". BBC News. 27 November 2013. Retrieved 28 January 2014.
5. Wayne Davies (3 January 2014). "English language debut for hit noir series Hinterland". Wales Online. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
6. "BBC - S4C - Heno, Fri, 11 Sep 2015". BBC. Retrieved 27 November 2015.
7. Moss, Stephen (30 July 2013). "Hinterland – the TV noir so good they made it twice". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
8. Yapp, Carl (15 December 2012). "BBC News - The Killing TV company turns to Aberystwyth police drama". BBC News. Retrieved 27 October 2013.
9. Khalsa, Balihar (13 December 2012). "DR Denmark makes move for Welsh drama Hinterland | News | Broadcast". Broadcastnow. Retrieved 27 October 2013.
10. "Weekly Top 10 Programmes". Broadcasters' Audience Research Board. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
11. "Hinterland (Welsh)". Vlaamse Radio- en Televisie. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
12. "Syrjäinen maa". Retrieved 20 October 2014.
13. "Inspector Mathias – ARD / Das Erste". ARD. Retrieved 12 July 2015.
14. "HINTERLAND W ALE KINO+". www.alekinoplus.pl. Retrieved 2016-03-19.
15. "Napovednik". MMC RTV Slovenija. 5 May 2014. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
16. "Welsh acquisition Hinterland comes to BBC Four". BBC Media Centre. 16 April 2014. Retrieved 16 April 2014.
17. "Welsh drama Hinterland picked up for Netflix streaming". Wales Online. 15 April 2014. Retrieved 16 April 2014.

External links

• Official website
• Y Gwyll at BBC Programmes
• Hinterland at BBC Programmes
• Hinterland at the Internet Movie Database