# Hinterland (2013)

> A troubled, brilliant detective leaves London for a Welsh coastal town and solves murders by reading the people around them.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/54099

## Facts

- Seasons: 3
- Episodes: 24
- Episode runtime: 60 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: crime, drama, mystery
- Created by: Ed Talfan, Ed Thomas
- Network: S4C
- Cast: Richard Harrington, Mali Harries, Alex Harries, Hannah Daniel, Aneirin Hughes, Jacob Ifan, Hannah Franklin
- TMDB rating: 7.6/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2575968/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: measured
- Intensity: moderate
- Complexity: layered
- Violence: moderate
- Tone: melancholic, brooding, atmospheric, contemplative

## What critics say

Viewers found Hinterland an intelligent, well-written Welsh detective series with a strong investigative team and a distinctive atmosphere, though its lead detective's familiar troubled-maverick traits draw some criticism.

## Synopsis

Hinterland is a Welsh-language crime drama created by Ed Talfan and Ed Thomas for S4C and BBC Cymru Wales, running three seasons of eight episodes each from 2013 to 2016. Richard Harrington plays DCI Tom Mathias, a brilliant but troubled detective who leaves London behind to work in Aberystwyth on the west Wales coast. Alongside a close team that includes DI Mared Rhys, DC Lloyd Elis and DS Siân Owens, he investigates a murder in each episode across rural villages, farmland and coastline. Cases unfold through patient interviews, tangled family histories and local secrets, and Mathias insists the truth lies in how you look rather than where. The series builds a character-driven mystery in which the detective's private unease and rule-bending weigh as heavily as the crimes. Its tone is melancholic and atmospheric, with rain-soaked landscapes, quiet tension and a sense of small communities where everyone knows everyone. Violence is mostly offstage and restrained, and the drama favours human motive over spectacle. Viewers who enjoy Wallander, Broadchurch or The Killing will recognise the brooding small town dread and the emphasis on character that define it.

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