Ordinarily, programme-makers are thrilled when their output proves timely and taps into the zeitgeist. But when Port Talbot steelworks announced its plan to shut two blast furnaces, with a loss of almost 3000 jobs, a month before The Way aired, there was no cause for celebration. Instead, it just proved how depressingly prescient this three-part drama is. A long-time passion project and directorial debut for actor Michael Sheen, who brought in screenwriter James Graham and documentary-maker Adam Curtis to beef out its creative credentials, The Way defies classification.

Presenting initially as a gritty working-class drama, it goes on to encompass elements of fantasy, a damning indictment of refugee policy, a dig at the manipulative power of social media, and even a dash of familial sitcom. Sheen, who was born in Port Talbot and recently returned to live there, clearly has several layers of skin in this game. The love he feels for his home town is the engine that drives proceedings, helping to capture the decades-old symbiotic relationship between its community and the imposing steelworks that loom large over them.

Graham, who is best known for penning Quiz and Sherwood, is the petrol in this tank, lubricating the harsh metal with characters that are soft at the core, while Curtis, with his searing non-fiction eye, adds much to its style and shape as we bounce from dramatic scenes to archive footage to moments captured via CCTV. However, the almost laughable central premise will cause an inevitable divide among viewers; we’re used to seeing tragic images of refugees fleeing their homeland via dangerous, sometimes fatal methods. But rarely, if ever, do those in cosy UK homes imagine meeting the same fate.

The Way turns all that on its head when civil unrest in Port Talbot spills out into the rest of Wales, leaving the country’s residents heading for the border with England. Denied access and met with disdain, our central family of four (peacekeeper dad, agitator mum, police-sergeant daughter, and drug-dealer son), already at odds with each other, have to find a way to mend their own fences before vaulting any real ones.

A strong cast, including Sheen himself as the ghost of the activist granddad, makes emotional investment easy. The deep-fake viral video that lands the son in trouble may seem implausible, and the ‘Welsh Catcher’ with his Chitty Chitty Bang Bang cage is intentionally over the top. But then the whole story feels improbable until you read about the steelworks actually closing. Flip the globe to see what’s happening elsewhere and it all edges closer to feeling disturbingly real.

The third and final episode of The Way airs on BBC One, Monday 4 March; all episodes available now on BBC iPlayer.