S4C's award-winning crime noir drama Y Gwyll/Hinterland will soon be seen on free-to-air American screens. The distributor all3media International has sold the series to American Public Television (APT).
The announcement was made by senior series producer Ed Thomas in an event organised by Aberystwyth University for former students in New York this week.
Filmed in Aberystwyth and the surrounding areas, the Y Gwyll/Hinterland cast and crew are currently working on the third series, which will be shown first on S4C in October 2016.
The English language version of the first series of Y Gwyll/Hinterland, will be shown in 13 US TV Markets from 30 June onwards, including Kansas City, Seattle, Oregon, Milwaukee, Buffalo NY and Boston.
The crime drama is already shown on Netflix in the US and has been sold across the globe; including many European countries such as Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Finland, Belgium, Slovenia, France and Denmark.
S4C's Chief Executive, Ian Jones welcomed the news and said:
"I am extremely proud of Y Gwyll/Hinterland and it’s great news that viewers across the US can now enjoy this fantastic series on free-to-air television. The popularity of Y Gwyll keeps on growing and it has become a huge export for both S4C and Wales– raising the profile of the country and the talent we have here. It shows how investment in the creative industries can take Wales to a global stage, bringing with it huge benefits for future development and the economy."
Y Gwyll/Hinterland has already received acclaim across the pond, winning the Grand Award at the 2016 New York International Film and Television awards in April. The Grand Award is given to a select group of the highest scoring programmes from among all the entries. In the same prestigious awards, it also won a Gold Medal for the best Crime Drama.
The third series will be shown first on S4C in the autumn. The third series is financed by broadcast partners S4C and BBC Wales, together with all3media International, Tinopolis and Welsh Business Finance, and is produced by Fiction Factory.
