Hinterland

Many crime stories show police / detective work as something exciting, the cops are on a quest to solve a puzzle, and with guns, technology, intellect or even superpowers, they manage to find the culprit, point a finger at the guilty, and pat themselves on the back for doing a great job. There's none of that here.

Police work as shown in Hinderland is a mix of frustrating conversations that get you nowhere and hours of research (done by supporting leads) coupled with some lucky breakthroughs. If you are nit-picky about police procedures or a fan of CSI-type of story telling, you might be bored and annoyed by this show.

If you like shows about detectives unraveling the master plans of highly intelligent super-villains you might be a bit disappointed as well - the crime in this show is very down-to-earth and true to statistics (no Hanibal Lecter type of stuff).

Even if initially the series seems slow, and not your usual cup of tea, it's worth to give it a closer look, as it just might make you a better person.

Each episode (the length of a standalone film) tells a different story of 'who's done it', yet the finger never seems to be pointed at a particular person. The show offers a fuller picture and helps you understand the motivations and circumstances that lead to the crimes.

The show is really compassionate, there are no bad guys and good guys, like many of the cop-stories out there would have you believe, everyone is broken and suffering, and oh so human. A true lesson in empathy.

I love how Tom Mathias (the main character) treats the people he arrests - even when tackling them to the ground he still sees them as people, seems to understand their pain and even (gasp!) tries to comfort them.

When the stories come to an end, there is no patting on the back, solving of a case does not feel like a victory of justice, there are no moral lessons to learn, other than "suffering creates more suffering".

It's a slow, beautifully shot show which by offering you an escape from reality throws you knee-deep in it's slimy gutter instead.

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.

Stunning, gripping, dynamic - excellent acting with gripping plot lines against the backdrop of a beautiful but bleak Wales.

The weather with all it's moods, a tumultuous seascape and vast barrenness of the Welsh landscape, this series achieves it's aims of the stories that emerge from the land and it's people; new views of the places and faces of Wales - and it's bilingual - to listen to the cadence of the Welsh accent alongside English enhances cultural understanding.

The cinematography is wonderful, testament to the commitment to a visual expression of culture, time, place and it's people. Outstanding.

Why is there not more?

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.

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.