‘Murky’ Channel 4 psychological thriller returns tonight 3 years after it launched

Three years after Channel 4 Welsh thriller, Light in the Hall, gripped audiences, it’s back for a second series.

The original slow-burn crime show – which also has an entirely Welsh-language version titled Y Golau – was set in the picturesque (fictional) town of Llanemlyn, where gardener Joe (Game of Thrones star Iwan Rheon) is released from jail after 18 years, for the murder of local girl Ela.

Almost two decades on, Ela’s mother Sharon (Joanna Scanlan) teams up with journalist  Cat (Alexandra Roach) to uncover exactly where Ela’s undiscovered body is, and unravel the truth of exactly what happened all those years ago.

After it came out, the six-episode thriller was hailed for its touching themes around grief and loss, and standout acting.

‘It’s gripping stuff, made all the more so by strong performances across the board… While it veers at times slightly too close to melodrama, this is a fascinating, slow-burn study of grief, obsession and the need for some kind of closure,’ the Evening Standard wrote.

‘It’s this small detail that made The Light in the Hall stand out from its peers. This wasn’t the classic story of “evil man is evil”,’ the i shared.

Over on IMDb, user andiroids-1 called it ‘mesmerising’ while craig-snell called it a show ‘actually worth watching’.

‘Excellent plot! The show gets better and better as it goes along. Touching look at a small town, and love and loss. The cast was amazing,’ Martin T echoed on Rotten Tomatoes.

Meanwhile, with series two landing on TV imminently, The Guardian has teased that the new episodes are ‘a thrillingly murky Welsh drama’.

Once more with a Welsh and English language version, this time the series is titled The Light in the Hall: Still Waters (Y Golau: Dŵr).

The new series features an entirely new ensemble cast, including Mark Lewis Jones as Rhys Owen, Nia Roberts as Eve Davies and Robert Glenister as Robert Davies.

There is one returning character, however. Siân Reese-Williams reprises her role as Caryl Huws, a butcher-shop worker turned trainee journalist.

In the new series – from the same creator, Regina Moriarty – we return to Llanemlyn, where ‘a controversial plan to expand the reservoir reignites long-buried tensions.’

Winding the clock back to 1995, we meet activist Llyr Owen, who dies in a bombing for which his cousin Rhys is jailed.

The synopsis continues: ‘Thirty years later, Rhys returns home to a community once again divided by protest.

‘As trainee journalist Caryl becomes drawn into the story, her investigation begins to unravel hidden truths, exposing secrets that have shaped the town for decades, in a gripping drama of protest, guilt and generational reckoning.’

The Light in the Hall: Still Waters airs on Channel 4 from Tuesday, June 16 at 9pm. The first series is available to stream on Channel 4 now.