We’ve been inundated with excellent crime dramas from Scandinavia over the past few years, but an interesting challenger to the Nordics is emerging from a bit closer to home. From the misty Welsh seaside comes Hinterland, AKA Y Gwyll, which follows detectives Tom Mathias (Richard Harrington, left) and Mared Rhys (Mali Harries), as they investigate the seedy underbelly of criminals that threaten the remote coastal region of Ceredigion. Murderers, stalkers and thieves drag Mathias into a world of death, drugs and recrimination, as he struggles to maintain the stability of his home town Aberystwyth.
As he delves deeper into the locale’s dark side, the young policeman is forced to confront his own personal demons. Atmospheric and disturbing, this is a series of poignancy and scale, a story of blood, soil and belonging.
Currently airing on BBC Four on Saturday evenings at 9pm, Hinterland season 2 is released on DVD on May 30.