This gritty Welsh crime drama is leaving Happy Valley fans hooked… — ITV’s Out There follows grieving farmer Nathan Williams, played by Martin Clunes, whose quiet life is shattered when his teenage son is pulled into a dangerous drug gang. With escalating tension, family drama and a dark rural setting, the six-part thriller has viewers praising its gripping storyline and calling for a second season.

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ITV’s Welsh Crime Drama Out There Has Viewers Hooked — And Happy Valley Fans May Want To Add It To Their Watchlist

A grieving father, a vulnerable teenager and a dangerous drug network invading the Welsh countryside — Out There takes the familiar idea of a crime drama and places it against a setting that initially appears anything but threatening.

The gritty six-part ITV thriller stars Martin Clunes as Nathan Williams, a farmer whose family has lived and worked the land for generations. But when his teenage son Johnny, played by Louis Ashbourne Serkis, becomes caught up with a drug gang, Nathan is forced to confront a criminal world that has reached far closer to home than he ever imagined.

The series first aired in January 2025 and has since earned strong reactions from viewers, with some describing themselves as completely “hooked” and calling for another season.

When the countryside no longer feels safe

An older man with his arm around a younger boy in a field

Nathan begins the story carrying the grief of losing his wife two years earlier while trying to raise Johnny as a single parent. His life is already difficult, but everything changes when Johnny is accidentally drawn into a county drug line and finds himself in serious danger.

For Nathan, protecting his son means stepping far beyond the boundaries of the life he has always known.

The series’ synopsis describes his journey as one that takes him increasingly outside his comfort zone as he fights to protect his family, his home and the legacy that has been passed down through generations.

Nathan has failed to recognise how dramatically the world around his farm has changed. The peaceful rural environment of his childhood has been affected by criminality spreading outward from the city, forcing him to accept that the countryside he once knew no longer offers the same sense of security.

To survive, he has to understand this new reality — and learn how to fight back.

A strong cast at the heart of the story

An individual is seated inside a utility vehicle, positioned within the driver's door. The vehicle appears to be in a natural setting, possibly a forest or woodland area. The individual is dressed in a blue coat and a red shirt, with their arms resting on the vehicle's door frame.

Clunes leads the cast as Nathan, with Louis Ashbourne Serkis playing his son Johnny.

Mark Lewis Jones appears as Nathan’s brother, Caleb Williams, while Carly-Sophia Davies and Gerran Howell play siblings Sadie and Rhys. Natalia Kostrzewa stars as Eva, a cleaner who becomes drawn into the struggle against the dangerous forces surrounding the family.

The combination of family drama and crime gives the series much of its tension. At its centre is a father determined to help his son, even as the situation becomes increasingly difficult to control.

That focus on family, danger and escalating pressure is one reason the series has attracted comparisons from viewers to other tense British crime dramas.

Filmed across Wales

A man holding a shotgun putting a young man behind him

The Welsh setting is more than just a backdrop for Out There. The six-part drama was filmed in locations across the country, giving viewers plenty of opportunities to recognise familiar landscapes and towns.

The farms featured in the series were located in Llangattock, near Crickhowell in Bannau Brycheiniog, and in Llyswen, near Brecon.

The fictional small town seen in the drama was created using several different locations. Llandovery in Carmarthenshire featured prominently, while Newport was used for the larger town and city setting.

Other filming locations included Trefil near Merthyr Tydfil, Port Talbot, Swansea, Cardiff and Bettws near Bridgend. Interior scenes were filmed at Dragon Studios in Cardiff.

Clunes previously spoke positively about his experience filming in Wales, saying: “I really enjoyed filming in Wales. The locations were beautiful. I like being on a farm and being in the countryside. I was in my element.”

Viewers want more

A man holding a shotgun sat down in a barn

Since its January 2025 debut, Out There has continued to receive praise from viewers who were drawn in by its tense storyline and increasingly dangerous situation.

One viewer described discovering the drama while looking for something different after becoming tired of scrolling through Netflix and other streaming platforms. They said the pacing immediately pulled them into the story and that by episodes three or four, they were “completely hooked.”

Another viewer was even more direct, writing that they were “absolutely hooked” and wanted a second season.

Others echoed the same sentiment, describing the series as “absolutely brilliant” and hoping ITV would make another instalment.

The enthusiasm continued from viewers who had watched the entire six-part story. One described it as “quite enthralling,” praising the storyline and admitting they had not expected the direction it ultimately took. They were so absorbed that they watched the whole series in one go.

Another viewer made a particularly striking comparison, calling it “Breaking Bad in Wales.” They felt the sixth episode had only just begun to open up the story, imagining a potential continuation in which Nathan becomes increasingly determined to do whatever is necessary to protect his farm and family.

For fans of tense British crime dramas such as Happy Valley, Out There offers a similarly unsettling combination of family pressures, crime and a community where danger is much closer than it first appears.

Out There is available to watch on ITVX.