Shetland Island is a series of six primary works span by well known Britain’s Duncan Lawrie Dagger award winning author Ann Cleeves. As the name suggests the basic setting is the Shetland Island with the story centered on the life of Inspector Jimmy Perez. As far as mystery stories go, this series definitely has readers hooked on its suspense. Each of the books has received praise for being able to keep readers intrigued. Ann Cleeve's bestselling series of crime novels featuring Detective Jimmy Perez, and now also adapted for a major BBC television series, is inspired by the place where the stories are set: Shetland. Shetland filming locations: where BBC series is filmed, and all you need to know about the islands". i News. 26 February 2019.

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. [4] Production had to be postponed due to COVID-19. Series 6 broadcast began on 20 October 2021 and series 7 on 10 August 2022. Joining the cast of Shetland for the eighth series are Phyllis Logan (Guilt, Downtown Abbey), Jamie Sives (Guilt, Annika), Dawn Steele (Holby City, Granite Harbour), Don Gilet (EastEnders, Sherwood), Ann Louise Ross (River City, Katie Morag) and Lorraine McIntosh (Outlander, My Name is Joe). The guest cast will star alongside series regulars including Steven Robertson (playing DC Sandy Wilson), Lewis Howden (Sgt Billy McCabe), Anne Kidd (Cora McLean), Angus Miller (Donnie), Conor McCarry (PC Alex Grant) and Eubha Akilade (PC Lorna Burns). In this special time of the year however when night blurs into days and nothing is quite as it seems and with the detective caught up in his relationship with Fran Hunter, his judgement might just be clouded. Will the detective think clearly enough to uncover the truth or will his relationship be what comes between him and his work?

Pérez and the team discover that the person responsible for the deaths of Robbie Morton and Michael Thompson is closer to home than they had thought. Jeffery, Morgan (3 April 2013). " 'Shetland' gets full six-part series on BBC One". Digital Spy . Retrieved 26 June 2013. Also starring are Alison O'Donnell as DS Alison "Tosh" McIntosh and Steven Robertson as DC Sandy Wilson. Lewis Howden and Anne Kidd are also principal members of the cast. In his pursuit of the truth, Jimmy is confronted with a community steeped in tradition and suspicion, where allegiances run deep and outsiders are met with wary glances. Faced with unfamiliar terrain and a web of complex relationships, Jimmy struggles to navigate the labyrinthine mysteries that shroud the island. As the island is shrouded in mist and the atmosphere grows increasingly claustrophobic, another life is claimed, adding urgency to Jimmy’s quest for answers. Shetland is loved by millions of fans on BBC One and iPlayer, with the last series averaging 7.2 million viewers across its run (30-day all-screens figure).

The sparse landscape and the emptiness of the sea have bred a fierce and secretive people. Mima Wilson was a recluse. She had her land, her pride and her family. As Jimmy looks to the islanders for answers, he finds instead two feuding families whose envy, greed and bitterness have lasted generations.UK, Televisual Media Ltd. "Televisual | NEWS & COMMENTS". www.televisual.com . Retrieved 9 July 2018. The series books and this tour follow the seasons and begin with winter which takes up a third of the text. It is pointed out that books 5-8 follow earth, air, water fire. A strange Englishman spoils the fun when he bursts into tears claiming neither to know who he is nor where he comes from. The man is found the following day hanging from a rafter. Detective Jimmy Perez is set in his belief that the man has been murdered. This belief is strengthened when Bella’s musician nephew is also murdered. During filming, the cast and crew are usually based in Glasgow [16] and other areas of mainland Scotland. [10] [2] 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, [17] Ayr and Irvine, North Ayrshire. "My character’s house is actually in Kilbarchan, the interior of a couple of crofts are here [in Irvine, Ayrshire] and the police station is in Barrhead", Henshall said in a 2019 interview. [18]

Then an elderly woman is shot in a tragic accident in the middle of the night. Shetland detective Jimmy Perez is called in by her grandson – his own colleague, Sandy Wilson. The judging panel consisted of Geoff Bradley (non-voting Chair), Lyn Brown MP (a committee member on the London Libraries service), Frances Gray (an academic who writes about and teaches courses on modern crime fiction), Heather O'Donoghue (academic, linguist, crime fiction reviewer for The Times Literary Supplement, and keen reader of all crime fiction) and Barry Forshaw (reviewer and editor of Crime Time magazine). Lloyd tells Pérez he fled the United States after being framed for the murder of a police officer, a crime for which he'd be executed. Pérez arrests him for killing William Rodgers. Fertiliser of the kind used in the first bomb is stolen from a local supplier. Lloyd says that Rodgers appeared to recognize him in a local store but seemed to want to avoid him. Pérez suggests that he killed Rodgers, Connor – who knew his true identity – and Bryd to hide his secret. A date written on debris from the caravan explosion suggests a connection to the 1993 MV Braer tanker disaster. Pérez asks Sandy to look for local families or businesses affected by the oil spill. The camera card found by Abbie reveals Martin's photos of the local oil terminal, harbour authority, Bryd, Rodgers and Lloyd. Martin is actually DI Calvin Walker of the Counterterrorism Unit, monitoring a potential threat in Shetland. He suspects Rodgers – who'd been advocating for climate action online – Connor and Bryd were involved in an eco-terrorist cell. Tosh suspects a message in a library book cell members were using to communicate referred to Carol Anne Manè, an ex of Donnie's who had been asking him about Tosh and who works at the oil terminal. Carol Anne is arrested but denies everything. Ally Fleet, whose family lost their fishing business in the Braer disaster, aims his boat at an oil tanker heading for the terminal but veers away at the last minute. No explosives are found on his boat, but someone else is seen constructing a bomb. Tragedy strikes the island when an elderly woman is fatally shot in the dead of night, a devastating incident that appears to be an accident. Detective Jimmy Perez, intimately familiar with the intricate dynamics of the island community, is summoned to the scene by his own colleague and the grieving grandson of the victim, Sandy Wilson. Sweden: Swedish public broadcaster SVT started airing the 3rd series in January 2016 on their primary network SVT1. [47]English, Paul (2 March 2013). "Scottish actor Douglas Henshall on the perks of filming new BBC crime drama Shetland.. in & around Glasgow". Daily Record. Glasgow . Retrieved 2 April 2017. Paul Logue is the lead writer of the new series of Shetland, alongside Denise Paul and Vivienne Harvey. The series is produced by Louise V Say and directed by Andy Newbery and Giulia Gandini. Executive Producers are Gaynor Holmes for the BBC, Kate Bartlett and Denise Paul for Silverprint Pictures. That said, it was still an enjoyable and worthwhile read, combining facts about Shetland and her books and the TV series made from them, with her personal experiences there. As befits someone who has set her characters in the contemporary landscape, she does not give a token nod to modern lifestyles, they are central. I was very glad of the map which revealed that the Shetland geography in my head had been way off the reality.