Inspector Mathias - Mord in Wales

Excellent. Intriguing. Haunting. Beautiful and bleak. Strong characters and performances. So different than the shoot 'em up, soft core ridiculousness of US cop shows.

Perfect to binge. I'm having a tough time turning it off. I want to see what happens next and why. Interesting that they shoot in Welsh and English, takes a moment to get attuned to the accents and cadence.

Check it out! It really is good.

PS if you like this, take a peek at "Shetland". … another BBCgem.

I am in Wales, so get this as standard. It is too good to be shown in Wales only and on i-player. Hinterland is one of the best dramas to come out of the BBC for many years. If you love the wave of scandi dramas you will absolutely love Hinterland, filmed in the same way, it is naturally dark and moody, with gritty story lines, and a level of acting that will surprise you and make you want to come back for more. Richard Harrington is massively charismatic as lead character DCI Mathias, and the supporting cast are always equally as good. A word on the filming, it is top notch, beautifully done, but then they were never going to fail with the glorious mid Wales setting.

I cannot help but love this series.

It is taciturn and bleak - and must have been derived from Scandi-noir. There are some duff episodes, but it continues to redeem itself. Patently, they never film in summer - I cannot imagine that Aberystwyth labours under a perpetual gloom - but like 'The Killing' it always seems brooding and gloomy.

I would like it to be a little more shocking in effect, but suspect it has to be aimed at a mainstream audience so can't tread that path.

It could be more expansive in the intricacies of the plot, and build the relationships of the protagonists - the latter appear to be much the same as episode one regardless of the passage of time.

Whatever, I really, really like it.

Well I have to say that the title of the show did not initially grab me and I was guilty of thinking it may be a bit parochial and low key, as compared to some of the blockbuster series around these days but I am glad to admit that I misjudged that badly. Its really captivating to watch as the stories have a real edge to them and the plots are quite involved, as real life can be. I am a big fan of the new run of Swedish and Danish crime films, and this certainly matches them in terms of character development, intrigue and a haunting background that keeps the viewer glued to the screen. I also like the way the first two episodes involve murders with a murky history, similar to the style employed in the award winning Girl with a Dragon Tattoo. It also had a building story presence reminiscent of the excellent Broadchurch series, so I am now a big convert of what they have achieved with this....excellent drama, so please keep the stories going. Watch and you shouldn't be disappointed

Hinderland is brilliant- many American murder shows pale in comparison. But you have to like beautiful moody landscapes that mirror the people in them. Too many American shows are all about sex,shooting and cute chummy buddy scenes and pretty tourist places. If you don't want to think or be engaged you won't like it. But I find the series viscerally moving and thought provoking-so I love it and can't wait for the next one. The layers of personal history the series unravel and peel back, reveal truths about humanity we sometimes like to forget. The series does not trivialize the flaws and broken parts of the characters, rather the story line uncovers where things went wrong in the first place. True to life, it shows you how easy it can be to go off the rails.