Shetland, Series 8 #TVReview #BriFri
Welcome to British Isles Friday! British Isles Friday is a weekly event for sharing all things British and Irish — reviews, photos, opinions, trip reports, guides, links, resources, personal stories, interviews, and research posts. Join us each Friday to link your British and Irish themed content and to see what others have to share. The link list is at the bottom of this post. Pour a cup of tea or lift a pint and join our link party!
Last week, I reviewed a YouTube channel by a British cruiser, Emma Cruises.
Shetland is based on a series of detective novels by Ann Cleeves and is set in the Shetland Islands, the northern-most region of the UK.
Jimmy Pérez, the inspector for the first seven series of Shetland, resigned after the traumatic stories that played out in series six and seven.
My favorite character, Detective Seargeant Alison “Tosh” McIntosh, remains behind. Her character manages to be warm and compassionate (refreshing traits in TV detectives), but she is resolved when she needs to be.
Rick’s favorite character, Billy McCabe, the police sergeant also returned for Series 8. Rick likes to notice how often Billy goes away and gets the job done, usually off-screen — it’s a lot!
Detective Inspector Ruth Calder is a new character. When a witness to a gang murder in London scuttles off to the Shetland islands, Ruth’s boss sends her in pursuit. He reasons that Ruth’s childhood on the Shetland Islands would be an asset.
As it turns out, Ruth is best remembered as a troubled and troublesome teenager. Her past complicates as much as it illuminates the investigation.
Over the six episodes, this story had many twists and turns. If you love a good mystery that keeps you guessing, Shetland will do it. I got a kick out of one detail that we learned as viewers but never did get resolved by the professionals — keep an eye out for that one.
Given the big change in the cast, Series 8 could easily be enjoyed on its own. All eight series are currently on BritBox in the US if you want to start at the beginning.
Here’s the trailer from BBC Scotland for Series 8:
Have you watched Shetland? What did you think?