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The series paints a striking picture of the Western Isles, situating its narrative against the rugged terrain of the Outer Hebrides, with locations like Lewis and Harris taking center stage. The expansive beaches, towering mountains, and mysterious sea lochs serve as a living canvas that supports the unfolding mystery, lending the story a sense of isolation and tension. Caleb Anderson here finds the geographical canvas a perfect match for a tale steeped in regional tradition.

The series employs aerial and drone shots that capture the sweeping vistas in a manner reminiscent of the moody visuals seen in Nordic noir, infusing each scene with a melancholic tone.

The camera work is carefully calibrated to evoke both the beauty and the latent danger of its surroundings, drawing the viewer’s eye to the details that make the landscape almost a character in itself. Such visual choices underscore the narrative’s reliance on...

Welcome to Global Breakouts, Deadline’s strand in which, each fortnight, we shine a spotlight on the TV shows and films killing it in their local territories. The industry is as globalized as it’s ever been, but breakout hits are appearing in pockets of the world all the time and it can be hard to keep track… So we’re going to do the hard work for you.

This week we profile the world’s first ever high-end Gaelic TV drama series, which comes from the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. With only around 60,000 Gaelic-language speakers left in the world, The Island is doing wonders for representation and at the same time constitutes so much more — an entertaining, twisty crime thriller featuring a dose of star power in the form of Industry breakout Sagar Radia. Commissioners and producers tell us the show makes a statement, and they are now setting their sights on international sales.

An t-Eilean, or: The Island. That is the title of a prestige crime drama set on the Western Isles of Scotland that was launched by the BBC on Tuesday evening on its BBC iPlayer streaming service and BBC Alba, the Scottish Gaelic-language free-to-air channel that the U.K. public service broadcaster co-owns with Mg Alba. Alba is the Scottish Gaelic name for Scotland. And An t-Eilean is, according to the networks, the U.K.’s “first-ever high-end Gaelic drama series.”

That also makes it the biggest Gaelic drama in BBC Alba’s history and, according to The Guardian, the most expensive series ever made in Scots Gaelic with a budget of a £1 million ($1.2 million) per episode.

Described as “a tense, twisting story of lies, loss and long-buried secrets,” the series of four 50- minute long episodes stars Sorcha Groundsell (His Dark Materials, Shetland, The Innocents) as Kat Crichton, a Family...