Shetland (TV series)
Shetland is a British crime drama television series, made by ITV Studios for BBC Scotland and first broadcast on BBC One 10 March 2013. Initially based upon the novels of Ann Cleeves, the series was brought to the screen by David Kane, who has remained a principal writer throughout the series. The series stars Douglas Henshall as Jimmy Pérez, a detective inspector working for the Scottish police, Alison O'Donnell as Detective Sergeant Alison "Tosh" Macintosh, and Steven Robertson as Detective Constable Sandy Wilson. Mark Bonnar, Lewis Howden, Erin Armstrong, Julie Graham, and Anne Kidd are also principal  members of the cast. The story takes place largely on the eponymous Scottish 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. Henshall won the 2016 BAFTA Scotland award for best actor and the series received the award for Best TV Drama. On 2 December 2019, BBC One announced that "Shetland" would return  for two further series intended for 2020 and 2021 with Henshall and O’Donnell returning in their roles. Production had to be postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic COVID-19. Six series have been broadcast as of November 2021. Series 6 broadcast began on 20 October 2021. 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 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. In July 2018, Henshall confirmed that filming for series 5 would be over the following four months. Series 5 was broadcast was on BBC1 from 12 February 2019. During filming, the cast and crew are usually based in Glasgow and other areas of mainland Scotland. 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 [in Irvine, Ayrshire] and the police station is in Barrhead", Henshall said in a 2019 interview. Filming locations on or near Shetland have included Lerwick, the main port of the Shetland Islands and on the NorthLink ferry approaching Lerwick as well as the village of Wester Quarff south of Lerwick. Some  filming was done on Fair Isle for series 2 while the Hillswick wildlife sanctuary was featured in series 4. Cast. Series 1. Red Bones Series 2. Raven Black Dead Water Blue Lightning Episodes. Series 3 (2016). The broadcast of Episode 6 was delayed due to coverage of an FA Cup replay being broadcast. In contrast to Season 2 (3, 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 FA Cup replay. Home media. Released on DVD in Australia, Shetland, Series  1 contains 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.