The new series opens with Mathias under pressure. His wife Meg has turned up in Aberystwyth and he's under investigation by the IPCC following the death of Mari Davies at the end of the last episode. When a bus driver is found shot dead on an isolated mountainside, the investigation provides a welcome escape.
The murder of a local dignitary and barrister leads to the uncovering of a tragic story of love and loss fuelled by distrust and suspicion in the depths of the Hinterland.
The climax of the first series saw DCI Tom Mathias pushed to the edge; with a local woman's death on his conscience and blood on his hands, the series came to a dramatic end with Mathias' future hanging in the balance.
Mathias' struggle to differentiate between his professional duties and personal feelings should have left his career in tatters, but Chief Superintendent Prosser has other ideas, and the one-off special episode begins with Mathias' difficult return.
DI Mared Rhys, who has led the team in Mathias' absence, is forced to step aside as her old boss investigates an arson attack on an isolated farmhouse. An attack that has left a mother and child fighting for their lives.
As the investigation unfolds Mathias is drawn into a community of failing farms, festering resentments and long standing feuds. Suspicion falls on several in the community, including the victim's husband - a local timber merchant who was unscathed by the attack - and a young man displaced by the closure of his farm.
With lives hanging in the balance, Mathias is forced to act, but what is it about this case of a mother and child that draws him in, pulling him back from the brink? Could it be a connection with his dark and troubled past? The series returns to S4C later this year.
Jeff Murphy (adaptation by Caryl Lewis)
Ed Thomas
Owain Arthur, Sioned Dafydd, Dyfan Dwyfor, Hedydd Dylan, Hywel Morgan, John Ogwen, Gareth Pierce, Elen Rhys, Jason Speake, Seiriol Tomos
DCI Mathias’ investigation into the disappearance of 64 year old Helen Jenkins leads him to the cascading waters of an ancient ravine at Devil’s Bridge, and uncovers the cruel history of a long closed children’s home.
David Joss Buckley & Ed Thomas
Marc Evans
At a remote farmhouse, sixty-nine year old Idris Williams is discovered bludgeoned to death, and the investigation into his murder reveals the mountain’s bloody past.
Ed Talfan
Gareth Bryn
In the isolated village of Penwyllt, the body of a young man is discovered in the murky depths of a quarry lake. But who is he, and was this an accident?
David Joss Buckley & Ed Thomas
Rhys Powys
The body of a young woman is found abandoned but carefully placed in the marshes. This case, in the series finale, pushes DCI Mathias to the edge, both personally and professionally.
Jeff Murphy
Ed Thomas
Y Gwyll / Hinterland is produced by Fiction Factory in association with S4C, Tinopolis, BBC Cymru Wales, the S4C Co-Production Fund and ALL3MEDIA International ltd. The series includes 4 stories - each of 120 minutes duration – and has been produced bilingually in both Welsh and English simultaneously.
In Wales: Sky 104, Freeview 4; Freesat 104; Virgin TV 166.
In England, Scotland and Northern Ireland: Sky 134; Freesat 120; Virgin TV 166.
Online across the UK on S4C’s website - s4c.co.uk/clic - where it is available on demand for 35 days.
Viewers across the UK can watch S4C live on tvcatchup.com