In less than 24 hours on Monday, Acorn TV will debut one of the finest and most entertaining shows of 2018. Keeping Faith is one of those rare mysteries that has it all starting with a marvelous story, add in super directing, have as the shows backdrop a beautiful seaside town, then finish things off with an outstanding cast led by Eve Myles and what you have is a brilliant production that will have you hooked from start to finish.
Myles first caught the fancy of U.S. fans in the Doctor Who spin-off Torchwood, playing Gwen Cooper, we next saw her as Claire Ripley in Broadchurch and most recently she played the role of the Queen’s dresser, Mrs. Jenkins in the ITV/PBS mega-hit Victoria.
But it is her new character, Faith Howells, in the Acorn TV mystery Keeping Faith, that is without question her best role too date. It is a triumph and it is a role that will have U.S. fans wanting to see more of both Myles and her new show.
In the pilot of the eight-episode series, things look quite normal. Faith and husband Evan work together at a law practice they started in a seaside village in Wales. Life could not be better, she has a loving husband, a beautiful family, a successful career, and a lovely home on the sea.
We soon find out that Faith recently gave birth to the families third child but she can’t wait to return to her job as a defense attorney. Things begin to turn more than a bit strange just a few days before her return to the job. She is drawn into a mystery when her husband disappears.
Evan leaves for work but never arrives. His sudden absence strikes deep into the heart of this tiny Welsh community and forces Faith to search for clues, she discovers new revelations about Evan’s private life and questions how well she really knows the man she loves.
That begins a thrill ride Keeping Faith will take viewers on and it is a roll a coaster ride that is well worth the twists and turns. This show has binge watch written all over it and I can tell you I blew through the first three episodes without moving from my couch.
I spoke to Myles about Keeping Faith for this week’s edition of Stream On and here is a short sample of our conversation.
Jim Williams: What drew you to want to play the role of Faith Howells?
Eve Myles: I was actually offered the role over five years ago and I knew it was gold. I mean it was brilliantly written, Pip Broughton, the director is a dear friend of mine and she wanted me to play the role. So, we started to talk about how we might make the project a reality.
JW: As I understand it one of the requests from Pip was that you learn to speak Welsh?
EW: Yes, I am from a small village in Wales but I didn’t learn the language as a kid. Now, I am 39 with two kids, I am no spring chicken but I wanted to play Faith so I started to learn Welch. I sat at my desk every day after I took my kids to school and went to work to learn the lovely language. I honestly would have learned five languages if that is what it took to play the role of Faith.
JW: Your real husband Bradley Freegard actually plays the role of Evan your TV husband in the show. What was that like?
EW: Well I knew that he had read for another part in the cast and we had not heard anything. Then I had an accident and I was in the hospital when Brad told me he did not get the part he read for. I told him hey that is ok, there will be other shows, and then he told me he got the part of Evan. I called the nurse and asked for morphine. No, seriously we have worked together often on the stage so this is great fun!
OUR ENTIRE INTERVIEW IS THIS WEEK’S EDITION OF STREAM ON – CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THE ENTIRE INTERVIEW.
The Acorn TV U.S. exclusive was co-produced by Vox Pictures, S4C (Welsh Version) and BBC One Wales. It was a massive hit as the series broke all the BBC iPlayer, records with over 8 million requests to view the series the biggest number of downloads for a non-network show on the BBC.
Also, the BBC has said there will be a series two and that is great news. Be sure to let me know what you think about Keeping Faith, on Twitter @JWMediaDC, Tumblr, and Facebook.