Season Guide · Shetland
The Best Seasons of Shetland, Ranked
Ten series in, Shetland has really been two shows: Douglas Henshall's brooding DI Jimmy Perez carried the first seven series before handing over to Ashley Jensen's DI Ruth Calder from series eight onward, alongside Alison O'Donnell's DI Tosh McIntosh. Series 11 began filming in early 2026, and the BBC has said it will return later in 2026. Here's where to start and which seasons stand out from each era.
The Best Seasons, Ranked
Series 1
The 2013 debut that introduces Perez, Fran Hunter, and the isolated island atmosphere the whole show is built on.
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A tense, storm-trapped mystery on remote Fair Isle that earned some of the show's strongest reviews from critics.
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Ashley Jensen's first series as DI Ruth Calder, a native Shetlander returning home after twenty years with the Met.
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The latest complete series, digging into the death of a retired social worker and the secrets she kept.
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