SWITCH ON AS WALES TAKES STARRING ROLE IN NEW SHOWS
THIS autumn will finally see a load of high-profile TV shows and films which were made in Wales hit the screens, and we can’t wait. Wales has become a hotbed of film sets and a darling with location scouts during the past decade as high-profile shows like Doctor Who and Sherlock filmed here.
We all know there are many stunning and unique locations to be had here in Wales, so let’s see which big budget TV shows and feature films you can try and spot them in.
HIS DARK MATERIALS The much-anticipated fantasy adaptation from the mind of Philip Pullman and a co-production between Welsh-based Bad Wolf and TV royalty, HBO.
Starring now honorary Welshman Lin-Manuel Miranda (Mary Poppins Returns/Hamilton/FosseVerdon) as Lee Scoresby, Logan breakout-star Dafne Keen as Lyra and X-Men and It: Chapter Two’s James McAvoy. His Dark Materials has an epic cast and the stories are beloved by readers across the world.
The series follows the life of young Lyra (Keen) who is an orphan living with the tutors at Jordan College, Oxford.
As in Pullman’s novel, Lyra discovers a dangerous secret that involves Lord Asriel (McAvoy) and Marisa Coulter (Ruth Wilson).
It was filmed mainly at Bad Wolf ’s studios but they also created an entire town at Llangynidr Quarry in Crickhowell.
Series two has already been commission and starts filming soon, so it must be alright!
His Dark Materials will be on BBC One in the next few months. WATCHMEN This was the show being filmed at Penrhyn Castle last year, starring Jeremy Irons who was seen out and about enjoying what Gwynedd has to offer.
HBO is giving another beloved set of characters the TV treatment here, namely a motley crew of anti-heroes and vigilantes who live in a dystopian reality.
Watchmen is an iconic graphic novel, which already had the cinema treatment back in 2009.
This time Lost and The Leftovers creator Damon Lindelof takes the helm as showrunner and we see Irons, Don Johnson, Regina King, Frances Fisher and Welsh actor, Andrew Howard, star.
The series the UK from ber 21. will air in OctoTHE CROWN Possibly the most anticipated show of 2019 sees Olivia Colman take over from Claire Foy as Queen Elizabeth II.
Filmed in Caernarfon, Aberystwyth, Cynon Valley and Blaenavon, series three has a very Welsh flavour.
It tackles the Aberfan disaster and Prince Charles’ investiture.
The Crown returns to Netflix on November 17. END OF THE F***ING WORLD A cult hit for Channel 4 and Netflix, End of the F***ing World filmed in Swansea earlier this year, including at the legendary Kardomah cafe. It follows a pair of teens on a road trip that came to a dramatic conclusion in series one. Hope we find out what happened in series two, as the pair go on the run. The second series will premiere on Channel 4 this November. THE LIGHT This is a four-part series on the effects a catastrophic disaster has on a small Welsh community. It comes straight from the brilliant mind of Bafta-winning writer Jack Thorne, whose previous work includes National Treasure with Robbie Coltrane and Kiri with Sarah Lancashire. Starring Sa rah Lancashire, The Light has already b e en spotted filming in Porth, Rhondda, Pontyclun and at Miskin Manor.
It will be on before the end of 2019, according to IMDB. GAVIN & STACEY The cast and crew of the immensely popular sitcom ran riot as fans and locals loved having them back at Barry Island this summer.
It follows the gang 10 years down the line and finds out what they are up to.
It’s a Christmas special, so it’s obviously going to air on Christmas Day, which isn’t autumn, but we couldn’t leave it out, could we? THE KING Hollywood darling Timothee Chalamet (Call Me By Your Name) and Lily-Rose Depp star in this Netflix film about newly-crowned Henry V who must figure out how to rule during a war while dealing with his past life.
Wales Screen confirms that scenes were shot in Wales, but we will have to wait and see which ones.
Who doesn’t love a location spot?
The King debuts on November 1. Netflix on ETERNAL BEAUTY Maesycwmmer-born Craig Roberts – star of Submarine, Just Jim and an forthcoming biopic of JRR Tolkien – gets back into the director’s chair for this dark comic romance starring double Oscar-nominee Sally Hawkins from The Shape of Water and David Thewlis (Wonder Woman, Harry Potter, Naked).
Originally called In My Oils, production on the film ended in July and took place in Cardiff, Sully and across South Wales.
The film follows Hawkins’ jilted character, who starts a romance with Thewlis’ Mike, who is a fellow lost soul.
It will get its premiere at the BFI Film Festival on October 8.