This BBC Scottish crime series gives a lot, very quietly. A decade late, I have happily jumped on the bandwagon/slow-moving local ferry
Shetland is a mild, full-hearted police procedural – “like a cross between Wallander and Midsomer Murders”, Sarah Dempster wrote in the Guardian in 2013 – and set mainly on that Scottish archipelago – “permanently dark, plagued by murder and with residents who communicate only by glaring”, Filipa Jodelka wrote the year after. It is anchored, at least for the first seven seasons, by DI Jimmy Perez – “a TV copper of rare nuance”, Jack Seale wrote last year, “with no gimmick apart from the steady erosion of his will”. It could be said that over the last 10 years, this series has had more than its fair share of coverage on this site. Then again, it’s really good.
Perez is played by Douglas Henshall, in a determinedly consistent wardrobe of jeans, knitted jumper and peacoat (Barbour jacket on special occasions). He solves murders. These evolve from one-offs involving birdwatchers and inheritances in the early seasons to multi-episode conspiracies and corruption exposés with higher and higher stakes. Fishing is usually involved.
