The second season of the 2018 historical documentary series The wallwhich explores “the human impact of borders and divisions around the world” and is narrated by Matthew Rhys in its international version, was unveiled on Thursday, marking “the first three-way co-production between the three Celtic-language broadcasters”.
The four episodes, each an hour long, are a co-production of the free-to-air Welsh language public television channel S4C, the free-to-air Irish public television network TG4, and MG Alba, which co-owns the free-to-air Scottish Gaelic channel BBC Alba with the BBC. MG Alba joins the show, which had its first season in collaboration with S4C, TG4 and South Korean broadcaster SBS/JTV.
Season two of the series is produced by Welsh indie Rondo Media, in partnership with Irish producer Rosg and Scottish Gaelic producer Hamish Macleod. The wall It is supported by the Welsh Government via Creative Wales and distributed internationally by Cineflix Right.
“Filmed across four continents, the series takes viewers to the Finnish-Russian border, São Paulo in Brazil, Vietnam, and the Spanish-Morocco border in Ceuta, exploring how walls and borders shape the lives of communities living on both sides,” according to the series description. “Through four films, the series explores stories of identity, migration and reconciliation, meeting people living behind physical and invisible walls, from heavily fortified borders to divisions created by wealth, history and conflict. The series examines how societies deal with these divisions, while also highlighting the extraordinary efforts people make to bridge these divisions.”
Each commissioned broadcaster will be provided with their own language version, with presenters working across Welsh (Y Wal), Irish (An Balla) and Scottish Gaelic (Am Balla). An international version will be narrated by Rhys, who also voiced the first season. Other presenters are Lisa Jên Brown for S4C in Wales, Sile Nic Chonaonaigh for TG4 in Ireland and Ramsay MacMahon for MG Alba in Scotland. The wall Season 2 will start on April 7 on S4C.
The first season was broadcast across the Discovery brands in the United States
Commissioned by Llinos Wynne (S4C), Proinsias Ní Gráinne (TG4) and Margaret Cameron (MG ALBA), the project reflects “the growing collaboration between Celtic broadcasters and demonstrates how minority language networks can work together to deliver ambitious international storytelling,” the partners said.
Linus Wynn, Head of Documentary and Non-Fiction at S4C, said: “This collaboration between S4C, TG4 and MG ALBA demonstrates what can be achieved when Celtic broadcasters work together. By pooling creative talent and resources, we can tell ambitious global stories while celebrating our shared cultural heritage.” “Projects like this show the power of collaboration between broadcasters working in minority languages,” added Proincias Ni Grain, commissioning editor at TG4. Series 1 was a huge success on TG4 and was distributed to more than 100 territories around the world. The wall [[Season 2]is another powerful series that reflects local perspectives and global realities.
Margaret Cameron, Director of Content at MG ALBA, said: “Working with our partners in Wales and Ireland has produced a truly collaborative production that highlights the power of Celtic language storytelling on an international stage. It is a series that speaks for our times.”
The production was filmed simultaneously in multilingual versions, with presenters and crew working together throughout filming, comparing languages, discovering shared Celtic roots and crafting what the production team described as “one extended Celtic family telling urgent, universal stories together”.
