We're getting pretty excited about The Way, a new BBC One drama created by acclaimed actor, Michael Sheen, and set in his hometown.
The three-part tale follows an ordinary family caught up in an extraordinary chain of events that ripple out from their hometown of Port Talbot and it's on its way to our screens this month!
The "ambitious, powerful, surprising and darkly humorous" drama tells the story of how the Driscolls are forced to leave their homes and everything they know when their community is gripped by civil unrest.
Written by Sherwood creator, James Graham, and boasting an all-star cast led by Steffan Rhodri, Luke Evans, Callum Scott Howells, Mali Harries and Sophie Melville, the three-part series will be directed by Michael Sheen, in his debut behind the camera.
“I feel very lucky to get to work every day with these phenomenal actors," says Sheen, who'll also have a cameo role in the series. "We’ve always had so much acting talent here in Wales and I’m very grateful to have the opportunity to tell this extraordinary story with the very best at work today.”
Graham and Sheen co-created the series, with the help of acclaimed BAFTA-winning documentary maker, Adam Curtis.
The Way will be the latest in a long line of dramas from BBC Cymru Wales, which has included hit shows such as The Pact season 1, The Pact season 2 and Steeltown Murders.
"This is our biggest year ever of drama for BBC Cymru Wales and the talent pipeline is astonishing," says Nick Andrews, Head of Commissioning for BBC Cymru Wales. "It is terrific to be working with this team and I know our audiences are going to love the story they’re telling. It’s one hell of a caper.”
Here's everything we know about the drama, which is being made for the BBC by Wales-based company Red Seam in association with Little Door Productions...
The Way release date — when is it on BBC1?
The Way will be available in full on BBC iPlayer from 6am on Monday 19 February and airs weekly on BBC One from 9pm that night.
The Way trailer
A full trailer for the three-part series finally dropped at the start of February, check it out below...
The Way plot — what happens?
An official synopsis from the BBC reads...
"Ambitious, powerful and surprising, The Way taps into the social and political chaos of today’s world by imagining a civil uprising which begins in a small industrial town.
"Fleeing unrest, The Driscolls are forced to escape the country they’ve always called home and the certainties of their old lives. Will they be overwhelmed by their memories of the past, or will they lay their ghosts to rest and take the risk of an unknown future?
"The Way is an emotional and darkly humorous story about what it means to be faced with impossible choices."
The Way cast — who's in it?
The Driscoll family are played by Steffan Rhodri (Steeltown Murders, Gavin and Stacey), Mali Harries (Keeping Faith, Hinterland), Sophie Melville (The Pact, Iphigenia In Splott), Callum Scott Howells (It's A Sin, Cabaret) and Michael Sheen (Staged, Good Omens).
Meanwhile, Maja Laskowska (Trigonometry, Baptise) will play a young woman caught up in the family’s escape, while Luke Evans (Nine Perfect Strangers, The Pembrokeshire Murders) plays Hogwood - aka 'The Welsh Catcher' - a mercenary in pursuit of the Driscolls.
Elsewhere, child actor Teilo James Le Masurier will make his screen debut as Rhys, the Driscolls' 4-year-old grandson.
The rest of the cast includes...
* Tom Cullen (The Gold, Weekend)
* Danny Sapani (Killing Eve, The Diplomat)
* Mark Lewis Jones (Outlander, The Crown)
* Paul Rhys (Discovery of Witches, Chaplin)
* Erin Richards (The Crown, Gotham)
* Aneurin Barnard (The Catch, 1899)
* Catherine Ayers (The Light in the Hall, Keeping Faith)
* Jonathan Nefydd (Pobol y Cwm, Grav)
* Matthew Aubrey (Keeping Faith, World on Fire)
* Andria Doherty (It’s a Sin)
