SHETLAND, SEASON 9: BritBox

I miss Jimmy Perez on Shetland. Nevertheless, I'm still watching the series. And, here's the latest news! Shetland, Season 9, will premiere on Britbox on December 11. There will be one episode a week through January 15, 2025. Ashley Jensen and Alison O'Donnell return as Detectives Ruth Calder and Alison ‘Tosh’ McIntosh. 

Season 9 features a double missing person’s case that “blurs the lines between the personal and the professional, as Calder and Tosh are drawn into a labyrinthine investigation,” the official synopsis tells us. “When Tosh’s friend, Annie Bett (Sarah MacGillivray), goes missing, Ruth Calder — now living in Shetland — has no time to recover from a life-threatening ordeal of her own, and instead teams with Tosh to search for Annie and her young son, Noah (Jacob Ferguson).

Previous seasons of Shetland are available to stream on BritBox. Of course, you can read the Shetland mystery series by Ann Cleeves. It's a great series. 

SHETLAND, SEASON 8 NEWS!

 

SHETLAND, SEASON 8, NEWS! The season starts in the U.S. tomorrow night, Wednesday, November 29 on Britbox. Yay! 

Shetland, Season 8, stars Ashley Jensen as the lead following the departure of Douglas Henshall. 

There will be six episodes, starting on November 29, and drops an episode once-a-week for a total of six weeks. Six Episodes is not enough for me, but I'll take it. Can't wait!!

From WhatToWatch

Ashley Jensen taking over as the island's top cop following the departure of Douglas Hensall as DI Jimmy Perez.

Shetland will have a new feel as Ashely's DI Ruth Calder will be teaming up with long-standing series regular DS Alison "Tosh" McIntosh (Alison O’Donnell). 

The plot will see Calder heading back to her native Shetland to protect a vulnerable witness to a gangland murder. But can Calder and Tosh find the witness in time? And how will the pair work together, especially given Calder's hostility towards Shetland?

Talking about joining the team, Ashley said when she was cast: "I am absolutely thrilled to be joining Shetland as DI Ruth Calder. It's such a hugely successful show and I am aware I have very big boots to fill since the departure of DI Perez, who was very much loved by fans of the show.

"There will be a different dynamic with Ruth amongst the regular characters and a few more new interesting characters to enjoy. However, the integrity of the show and the world that has been created will remain very much in the same tone as the last seven seasons. It's a real privilege to be asked to lead this show into a new chapter. I can’t wait to be working in Scotland again. I have missed it!”

Also joining the cast 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).

SHETLAND SEASON 8 NEWS

Alas, Jimmy Perez has left the building! 

Shetland, Season 8, stars Ashley Jensen as the lead following the departure of Douglas Henshall. 

Shetland season 8 will start on Wednesday, November 1 at 9 pm on BBC One. No release date yet for the U.S. Let me know if you find a date. We're all anxious to watch the new series. 

From WhatToWatch

Ashley Jensen taking over as the island's top cop following the departure of Douglas Hensall as DI Jimmy Perez.

Shetland will have a new feel as Ashely's DI Ruth Calder will be teaming up with long-standing series regular DS Alison "Tosh" McIntosh (Alison O’Donnell). 

The plot will see Calder heading back to her native Shetland to protect a vulnerable witness to a gangland murder. But can Calder and Tosh find the witness in time? And how will the pair work together, especially given Calder's hostility towards Shetland?

Talking about joining the team, Ashley said when she was cast: "I am absolutely thrilled to be joining Shetland as DI Ruth Calder. It's such a hugely successful show and I am aware I have very big boots to fill since the departure of DI Perez, who was very much loved by fans of the show.

"There will be a different dynamic with Ruth amongst the regular characters and a few more new interesting characters to enjoy. However, the integrity of the show and the world that has been created will remain very much in the same tone as the last seven seasons. It's a real privilege to be asked to lead this show into a new chapter. I can’t wait to be working in Scotland again. I have missed it!”

Also joining the cast 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).

BBC announces new lead for Shetland Series

The BBC's award-winning murder mystery drama Shetland announced a new lead actor when it returns next year. 

From BBC.com

Ashley Jensen will star as DI Ruth Calder, a native Shetlander who returns to the isles after 20 years working for the Met in London. The Scottish actor takes on the lead detective role left vacant by DI Jimmy Perez, played for seven series by Douglas Henshall.

Jensen said she was "absolutely thrilled" to be joining the show.

The 53-year-old, who was born in Annan in Dumfriesshire, got her big break when she starred alongside Ricky Gervais in Extras in 2005. She went on to appear regularly in US TV series Ugly Betty before returning to the UK with roles in shows such as Agatha Raisin and Catastrophe. In 2019 she reunited with Gervais in the Netflix comedy series After Life.

The new series of Shetland will film in locations on Shetland and across Scotland this spring.

Jensen will join series regulars such as Alison O'Donnell (DS Alison 'Tosh' McIntosh), Steven Robertson (Sandy), Lewis Howden (Billy) and Anne Kidd (Cora). Jensen said: "There will be a different dynamic with Ruth amongst the regular characters and a few more new interesting characters to enjoy.  "However the integrity of the show and the world that has been created will remain very much in the same tone as the last seven seasons. 

"It's a real privilege to be asked to lead this show into a new chapter."

Shetland Series 6 Premieres today on BritBox

Shetland, the series, based on the best-selling books by award-winning crime writer Ann Cleeves, follows Detective Jimmy Perez and his team as they investigate crimes within the close-knit community on the titular Scottish archipelago.

The new season on BritBox is not an adaptation but an original story written by David Kane (Stonemouth, The Field of Blood). It finds Perez grieving a death in his family while he, DS Alison “Tosh” MacIntosh (Alison O’Donnell, Holby City), and DC Sandy Wilson (Steven Robertson, The Bay) investigate the murder of a prominent Shetland local. This killing causes shock waves through the community, and because the victim was so well-known and connected to so many people on Shetland — including those who might have had a motive for murdering the person — our detective trio have a lot of potential suspects.

In addition to the lead cast, actors reprising their roles in the new season of Shetland include Erin Armstrong (Rillington Place) as Cassie Perez, Lewis Howden (Taggart) as Sgt. Billy McCabe, Conor McCarry (The Loch) as PC Alex Grant, Neve McIntosh (Traces) as Kate Kilmuir, and Julia Brown (World on Fire) as Molly Kilmuir.

Shetland: Season 6 premieres in the US on Tuesday, November 9, exclusively on BritBox. New episodes will debut weekly through December 14.

SHETLAND TO RETURN FOR TWO MORE SEASONS!

Well this really is good news. The BBC reports that Shetland starring Douglas Henshall will return for two more seasons.

Based on the novels of Ann Cleeves, series six and seven will be filmed in 2020 and 2021, for six hour-long episodes in each.

Shetland - starring Douglas Henshall as Jimmy Perez - debuted on BBC One back in 2013.
Gaynor Holmes, commissioning editor for BBC Drama in Scotland, said: "We are really proud of Shetland."

She explained: "The crime series led by DI Perez and his team has proved hugely popular with audiences both in Scotland and across the rest of the UK."

Since the series first aired, thousands of tourists - many from cruise ships - have headed to Shetland, inspired by the drama.

VisitScotland in Shetland last year said the Shetland TV series and books had been an "amazing success" for the islands.

Congrats to Ann Cleeves and the BBC! Looking forward to the new shows!

Ann Cleeves' The Long Call TV News!

From Deadline:

Silverprint Pictures is set to adapt Ann Cleeves' new mystery The Long Call for television. The producer has optioned the book which is the first in Cleeves’ new Two Rivers series.

Silverprint previously adapted Cleeves’ Shetland, which has run for five seasons on the BBC, and Brenda Blethyn-fronted Vera, which was recently renewed for a tenth season on ITV.

The book, which is published by Pan Macmillan (Minotaur Books in the U.S.) was just released today. It's set in North Devon, where the author spent her teenage years. It follows the reserved and complex Detective Inspector Matthew Venn, as well as an ensemble of characters, evoking the stark beauty of the North Devon coastline, and a community where murder and intrigue bubble just beneath the surface.

The opening of The Long Call has Detective Matthew Venn standing outside the church as his estranged father’s funeral takes place. When he left the strict, evangelical community he grew up in, he lost his family, too. But a call to investigate a murdered body found on the beach nearby soon brings Matthew back to the people and places of his past. What he discovers there will force Matthew’s new life into a collision course with the world he thought he’d left behind.

I loved the book. It's such a wonderful addition to Cleeves' oeuvre. Totally gripping! Can't wait to see it on screen.

Ann Cleeves's Red Bones to be adapted by BBC

Ann Cleeves shared the news yesterday that BBC 1 has commissioned a 2 part adaptation from her Shetland novel RED BONES. The show stars Douglas Henshall and is directed by Peter Hoare who worked on Vera. Filming will be based in Shetland and the Scottish mainland.  Love this series, and I
 can't wait for the show to wend its way to the U.S.

Congratulations, Ann!

From Ann's website:

Scots actor Douglas Henshall has been cast as the lead role in Shetland, a new two-part drama set in Scotland for BBC One, produced by ITV Studios through BBC Scotland, and written by David Kane, adapted from Ann Cleeves's books featuring Detective Jimmy Perez.

Like the books, the powerful murder-mystery is set against the stunning Scottish backdrop of the Shetland Isles and centres on Detective Jimmy Perez (played by Henshall - The Kidnap Diaries, The Silence), but there are differences, too. Perez is recently widowed, a native Shetlander who has returned home after a long spell away. His bone-dry sense of humour and an idealistic desire to protect his beloved Shetland Isles from inevitable change make him a fascinating detective to watch at work.

When a young archaeologist discovers a set of human remains, the island community is intrigued to know if it's an ancient find or a contemporary mystery. And when an elderly woman is shot on her land in a tragic accident, Perez and his team find themselves at the centre of two feuding families whose envy, greed and bitterness has divided the surrounding community.

The Executive Producer is Elaine Collins, of ITV Studios, the team who brought Ann's Vera Stanhope to television. She says: "We are delighted to be working with the BBC on this commission. Shetland combines eccentric yet warm characters and a classic murder mystery story with the beautiful landscape and rich history of the Shetland Islands and we believe it will be hugely popular with viewers."

Christopher Aird, Head of Drama, Scotland and Executive Producer, BBC adds: "Shetland has a fantastic combination of writing, acting, directing and producing talent. It is a hugely exciting story and part of a project to bring the very best drama to BBC Scotland in the coming years."
Ann Cleeves says: " I'm delighted that my old friends from ITV Studios have teamed up with the BBC to create a television adaptation of the Jimmy Perez book Red Bones. I couldn't be in safer hands. And it's brilliant that the UK now has its own Nordic TV drama!"

Fans of Ann's Shetland Quartet will know that Red Bones is the third book in the quartet; new readers are recommended to start at the beginning, with Raven Black, the award-winning first book.