Shetland comes to the BBC
Acclaimed 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!"
The news has been welcomed by Shetland Arts, whose Director, Gwilym Gibbons, told The Shetland Times: "We have always believed that Ann Cleeves' characters, born out of her deep understanding of our seascapes and landscapes, have the potential for the creation a high quality TV drama set in Shetland."
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.
The Shetland Quartet
Raven Black was initially intended as a standalone novel - after all, how many murders could there be in Shetland? But the book was so successful, winning the first Duncan Lawrie Dagger Award for the best crime novel of the year, as well as numerous fans, that Ann wrote another Shetland mystery, and then another - until she had completed a quartet covering all four seasons and a tour of the archipelago (see the map of Shetland to find out where the books are set.
The turning of the year's circle and the dramatic changes it has brought for Jimmy Perez don't mean the end of the story - another Shetland mystery is in preparation. Meanwhile, for a fan's eye view, see The Book Resort, which gave the Shetland Quartet rave reviews during its Ann Cleeves Week last year; all the earlier books - plus an interview with Ann - are linked from the review of Blue Lightning. They also held an informal chat with Ann, in which she answers the question: "Tell us one thing about yourself that most of your fans don't already know?".
Ann has also written a short story, The Soothmoothers, which features Jimmy Perez. It was written for Radio 4's Red Herrings series, and broadcast on April 30th 2009, read by Marnie Baxter. Read The Soothmoothers exclusively on this web site.
My Shetland - two prize-winning short films chosen by Ann Cleeves to show readers of her Shetland Quartet what the islands look like to the people who live there.
Read an interview about Ann Cleeves and the Shetland Quartet in The Times Online; or read a profile of Ann Cleeves in The Scotsman.