''Shetland'' is a British

crime drama Crime film is a film belonging to the crime fiction genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and fiction. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine with many other genres, such as Drama (film and television), dr ...

television series produced by ITV Studios for BBC Scotland. First broadcast on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...

on 10 March 2013, it is originally based upon the novels of Ann Cleeves and adapted by David Kane. The first seven series starred Douglas Henshall as DI Jimmy Pérez, whilst Ashley Jensen stars as DI Ruth Calder from the eighth series. The cast also includes Alison O'Donnell as DS Alison "Tosh" McIntosh and Steven Robertson as DC Sandy Wilson, as well as Lewis Howden and Anne Kidd. Henshall won the 2016 BAFTA Scotland award for Best Actor and the series received the award for Best TV Drama. The stories take place largely on the eponymous archipelago, although some of the filming takes place on the Scottish mainland. Most, but not all, exterior location filming takes place in Shetland; in 2021, filming of series 6 and 7 took place in Shetland in two segments, each of about six weeks’ duration. Interiors may be filmed in either Shetland or in west central Scotland. On 2 December 2019, BBC One announced that two further series were intended for 2020 and 2021 with Henshall and O’Donnell returning in their roles. Production had to be postponed due to

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

. Series 6 broadcast began on 20 October 2021 and series 7 on 10 August 2022. On 20 July 2022, it was announced that ''Shetland'' would return without Henshall in 2023 for an eighth series. Jensen was revealed as his replacement on 23 November that year. In March 2024, the show was recommissioned for series nine and ten in 2024 and 2025 with Jensen and O'Donnell reprising their roles.

Production

The first series consists of two episodes, a single two-part story based on the novel ''Red Bones'' by Ann Cleeves. This series was broadcast across two nights on 10 and 11 March 2013 and was produced by Sue de Beauvoir. Subsequently, a second series was commissioned by the BBC. Series two was extended to contain six episodes. These were filmed in 2013 and screened in 2014. This series features three two-part stories based on Cleeves' novels '' Raven Black'', ''Dead Water'', and ''Blue Lightning''. This series was produced by Peter Gallagher. Filming began in April 2015 for a third series, which began screening in January 2016. This series saw a change in format; with all six episodes covering a single story, written exclusively for television. This was the first series not to adapt any of Cleeves' novels. Ciarán Hinds and

Anna Chancellor Anna Theodora Chancellor (born 27 April 1965) is an English actress who has appeared widely on TV, film and in the theatre. She received a nomination for BAFTA TV Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Lix Storm in '' The Hour'' (201 ...

were among the new cast members for this series. A fourth series was announced by the BBC in July 2016. Again, this series is a single story played out across six episodes and written exclusively for television. Stephen Walters and Neve McIntosh were among the new cast members announced for the series. It was broadcast on BBC One beginning on 13 February 2018. Series 5 was broadcast on BBC1 from 12 February 2019. During filming, the cast and crew are usually based in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

and other areas of mainland

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. Filming often takes place in areas with landscape or buildings reminiscent of those in the Shetland Islands, such as Kilbarchan in Renfrewshire, Barrhead, where Henshall was born and grew up, Ayr and Irvine, North Ayrshire. "My character’s house is actually in Kilbarchan, the interior of a couple of crofts are here n Irvine, Ayrshireand the police station is in Barrhead," Henshall said in a 2019 interview. Filming locations on or near Shetland have included Lerwick, the NorthLink ferry and the village of Wester Quarff, south of Lerwick. Some filming was on Fair Isle for series 2. The Hillswick wildlife sanctuary featured in series 4. Shortly before series 7 premiered, Henshall announced that the series would be his last. It was then announced that he would be replaced in the leading role by Ashley Jensen from the eighth series. Filming for series 9 started in Shetland in April 2024, and was broadcast from 6 November 2024 through 11 December 2024.

Cast

Main cast

Current

* Ashley Jensen as DI Ruth Calder (series 8–9) * Alison O'Donnell as DS (later DI) Alison "Tosh" McIntosh, (series 1–9) * Steven Robertson as DC Sandy Wilson (series 1–9) * Lewis Howden as Billy McBride, police sergeant (series 1, 3–9) * Anne Kidd as Cora McLean, forensic pathologist (series 5–9, recurring series 2–4) * Angus Miller as Donnie Russell, Tosh’s partner (series 9, recurring series 5-8) * Steven Miller as Reverend Alan Calder (series 9, recurring series 8)

Former

* Douglas Henshall as DI Jimmy Perez (series 1–7) * Erin Armstrong as Cassie Pérez, Jimmy's stepdaughter (series 1–7) * Mark Bonnar as Duncan Hunter, Cassie's biological father (series 1–7) * Julie Graham as Rhona Kelly, procurator fiscal (series 2–5, 7)

Recurring cast

* Stewart Porter as Billy McBride, police sergeant (series 2; temporarily replacing Lewis Howden) * Fiona Bell as Donna Killick (series 4, 6) * Neve McIntosh as Kate Kilmuir (series 4, 6) * Julia Brown as Molly Kilmuir (series 4, 6) * Jimmy Chisholm as Alec MacBay (series 4, 6) * Conor McCarry as PC Alex Grant (series 5–) * Anneika Rose as Maggie Kean, procurator fiscal (series 6–7) * Lucianne McEvoy as Meg Pattison (series 6–7) * Eubha Akilade as PC Lorna Burns (series 7–) * Tibu Fortes as Harry Lamont, procurator fiscal (series 8–)

Series 1

''Red Bones'' * Sandra Voe as Mima Wilson * Claire Rafferty as Anna Haldane *Jim Sturgeon as Ronald Haldane * Gemma Chan as Hattie James *Geraldine Alexander as Gwen James *Lindy Whiteford as Jackie Haldane * James Greene as Andrew Haldane *Martin Wenner as Professor Paul Berglund * Alexander Morton as Joseph Wilson * Sophie Rundle as Sophie * Sooz Aitken as Young Mima Wilson

Series 2

''Raven Black'' * Rebecca Benson as Sally Henry * Brian Cox as Magnus Bain *Sophia Carr-Gomm as Catherine Ross * Chris Reilly as Alan Isbister *Cara Kelly as Margaret Henry * Frances Grey as Jess Collins *Freya Monk as Kitty Collins *Matthew Zajac as Alex Henry * Anthony Flanagan as Euan Ross * Tunji Kasim as Hugo Scott *Jana Reinermann as Gret Bruce *Jordan Young as Brian Bruce ''Dead Water'' * Nina Sosanya as Willow Reeves * Alex Norton as Cameron Watt * David Hayman as Joe Dalhousie * Kari Corbett as Evie Watt *Marnie Baxter as Jenny Belshaw * Iain Robertson as Jerry Markham * Clive Russell as Adam Markham * Gerda Stevenson as Maria Markham *Neil McKinven as Andy Belshaw * Forbes Masson as Reg Gilbert *Henry Pettigrew as Iain Redford * Steven Cree as John Henderson * Leanne Best as Annabel ''Blue Lightning'' * John Lynch as Frank Blake * Bill Paterson as James Pérez *Leigh Biagi as Anna Blake * Anthony Howell as Peter Latimer * David Ireland as Finlay Caulfield *Julie Hale as Tessa Warren *Keith Ramsay as Joe Blake *Annie Louise Ross as Mary Pérez *Susan Vidler as Isobel Tulloch *Lorne MacFadyen as Angus Tulloch * Michael Nardone as Donnie Tulloch *David Annen as Bill Warren *Paksie Vernon as Gina Bradley

Series 3

* Ciarán Hinds as Michael Maguire * Saskia Reeves as Freya Galdie * Sara Vickers as Leanne Randall *Andrew Rothney as Robbie Morton * Archie Panjabi as DS Asha Israni *

as Phyllis Brenan * James Cosmo as Arthur MacCall *Jamie Michie as Lowrie *Kate Donnelly as Grace * Mark Cox as Tommy Monro * Struan Rodger as Alec * Ace Bhatti as Calvin Sarwar * Jack Greenlees as Craig Cooper *Benjamin Cawley as Edison

Series 4

* Stephen Walters as Thomas Malone * Sean McGinley as Drew McColl * Amy Lennox as Sally McColl * Sophie Stone as Jo Halley * Gerard Miller as Alan Killick * Allison McKenzie as Gail Callahan * Arnmundur Ernst Björnsson as DS Lars Bleymann * Carolin Stoltz as DI Anke Strom * Eleanor Matsuura as DI Jessie Cole * Hege Schøyen as Nina Søderland * Joi Johannsson as Andreas Hagan * Hannah Donaldson as Meg Hamilton * Michael Moreland as Benny Ray * as NDA leader

Series 5

* Rakie Ayola as Olivia Lennox * Derek Riddell as Chris Brooks * Catherine Walker as Alice Brooks * Tracy Wiles as Carla Hayes * Owen Whitelaw as Prentice Hayes * Lorn Macdonald as Jamie Hayes * Ryan Fletcher as Calum Dunwoody * John Kazek as Paul Kiernan * Meghan Tyler as Mags * Ayanda Bhebe as Daniel Ugara * Robin Laing as Gavin Laird * Gail Watson as Mary Hunter * Frances Mayli McCann as Niki * Emma Mullen as Rosie * Titana Muthui as Zezi Ugara * Kirsty Stuart as Morag Dunwoody * Kate Dickie as Sam Boyd * Jenni Keenan-Green as Claire McGuire * Therese Bradley as Andrea Doyle * Robert Cavanah as Graeme Benson

Series 6

* Cora Bissett as Eve Galbraith * Shona McHugh as Merran Galbraith * Stephen McCole as Logan Creggan * Kate Bracken as Lynda Morton * Thoren Ferguson as Eamon Gauldie * Andy Clark as Mick Muir * Lewis Gribben as Fraser Creggan * Sharif Dorani as Nazir Nassan * Julie-Yara Atz as Salma Nassan * Helene Maksoud as Rasha Nassan * Shonagh Price as Sister Carolyn/Lyn Harrison * Benny Young as James Pérez * Alec Newman as Niven Guthrie * Jim Sturgeon as Alex Galbraith * Lucianne McEvoy as Meg Pattison

Series 7

* Shauna Macdonald as Rachel Cairns * Andrew Whipp as Danny Cairns * Lauren Conroy as Abbie Cairns * Patrick Robinson as Lloyd Anderson *

Laurie Brett Laurie Brett (born 28 March 1969) is a Scottish actress, best known for her roles as Jane Beale in the BBC One soap opera ''EastEnders'' and Christine Mulgrew in the BBC One drama series '' Waterloo Road''. Early and personal life Brett was b ...

as Alison Woods * Stuart McQuarrie as Murry Rankin * Alexandra Finnie as Clana * Jade Ogugua as Carol Anne Mané * Ladi Emeruwa as Martin Otina /DI Calvin Walker * Grant O´Rourke as Jamie Narey

Series 8

* Maisie Norma Seaton as Ellen Quinn * Phyllis Logan as Grace Bain * Dawn Steele as Stella Quinn * Barry O'Connor as Kieran Quinn * Don Gilét as John Howell * Jamie Sives as Cal Innes * Kevan Mackenzie as James Innes * Ann Louise Ross as Agnes Moffat * Lorraine McIntosh as Heather Bain * Russ Bain as Bobby Bain * Arnas Fedaravicius as Lukas Nowak * Manjinder Virk as Farida Sadat * Bamshad Abedi-Amin as Azir Sadat * Francesco Piacentini-Smith as Gerry Byrne

Series 9

* Stuart Campbell as Malcolm Kidd * Sarah MacGillivray as Annie Bett * Jacob Ferguson as Noah Bett * Robert Jack as Ian Bett * Vincent Regan as John Harris * Ross Anderson as Patrick Harris * Macleod Stephen as Fergus Harris * Ian Hart as Euan Rossi * Tara Lee as Lisa Friel * Johannes Lassen as Stefan Jakobson * Nathalie Merchant as Karin Jakobson * Ines Asserson as Astrid Jakobson * Leeroy Boone as Anton Bergen

Episodes

Overview

Series 1 (2013)

Series 2 (2014)

Series 3 (2016)

The broadcast of Episode 6 was delayed due to coverage of an

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

replay being broadcast. In contrast to Season 2 (three 2-part episodes), Season 3 is one 6-part story.

Series 4 (2018)

The broadcast of Episode 3 was delayed by 24 hours due to the broadcast of an

replay.

Series 5 (2019)

Series 6 (2021)

Series 7 (2022)

Series 8 (2023)

Series 9 (2024)

Home media

Released on DVD in Australia, Shetland, Series 1 consists of the pilot "Red Bones" and the Series 2 episodes "Raven Black", "Dead Water" and "Blue Lightning". Series 2 contains the Series 3 episodes, Series 3 contains the Series 4 episodes, and Series 4 contains the Season 5 episodes. On Australian Region 4 DVD, The Pilot episode is stated as being Pilot and not Series 1, with the Series 2 episodes being stated as Series 1. Quote from the DVD "This DVD set includes the Pilot ''Red Bones'' and all episodes from series one ''Raven Black'', ''Dead Water'' and ''Blue Lightning''". However, the UK releases are Series 1 through 7 rather than Series 1 through 6 in Australia.

International broadcasts

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

: The programme airs on BBC First and ABC in Australia. Series 1-4 is also available on Netflix (Series 1 and 2 are combined and listed as Series 1, then Series 3 and 4 are listed as Series 2 and 3 respectively). *

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

: The programme began airing on Flemish public broadcaster VRT's main channel, één, in October 2015. *

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

: The series is broadcast on British Columbia's Knowledge Network and by Toronto's VisionTV. *

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

: Danish network DR 1 began showing ''Shetland'' in October 2015. *

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

: The series began airing on Das Erste at the end of March 2016. *

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

: The series began airing on ETV in September 2020. *

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

: Viewers in Finland were able to start watching the show from August 2015 on public broadcaster YLE's main TV1 channel, where the show was titled "." *

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

: The series began airing on Polar + in February 2018 *

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

: The series began airing on Virgin Media in February 2019. *

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

: The series began airing on Giallo in March 2018. *

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

: The series began airing on AXN Mystery in May 2015. *

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

: ''Shetland'' is aired as part of the "Detectives" series from KRO-NCRV on NPO 1. *

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

: The programme began airing in New Zealand on Vibe in January 2016. *

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

: ''Shetland'' is aired on public broadcaster NRK. *

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

: The programme began airing in Portugal on Fox Crime in August 2016. *

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

: The programme began airing in Galicia on Televisión de Galicia in October 2015. *

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

: The programme began airing in Slovenia on public broadcaster RTVSLO in July 2015. *

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

: Swedish public broadcaster SVT started airing the 3rd series in January 2016 on their primary network SVT1. *

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

: The series is broadcast on many stations of the

Public Broadcasting System The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prom ...

. *The series became available on

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

in 2016. In 2018, the Britbox streaming service acquired the exclusive rights to Shetland's Series 4, releasing new episodes weekly. Similarly, Series 5 has been released one episode per week beginning 30 April 2019. In April 2019, Netflix dropped the series from its streaming service in the US.

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek myth ...

has Series 1-3 available for fee purchase by episode or by season but is not included in its Prime streaming subscription. (Note that Series 1 episodesand Series 2 episodesare bundled into one season for purchase.)

Accolades

References

External links