SHETLAND

After the excellent ITV1 crime drama Vera, starring the great Brenda Blethyn, another book series from award-winning author Ann Cleeves is adapted for television. And it looks promising.

The talented Douglas Henshall (The Silence, Collision, Primeval) will star as Detective Inspector Jimmy Perez in Shetland, based on Red Bones, the third instalment of Ann Cleeves's Shetland Quartet. This 2 X 60-minute drama is set against the Scottish backdrop of the Shetland Isles and is centered on the character of recently widowed DI Perez, a native Shetlander who returns home after a long time away.

Shetland is due to start filming in Scotland under the direction of Peter Hoar (Silk, Vera) and has been written by David Kane (Taggart, Midnight Man, Rebus). It's a collaboration between ITV Studios, who brought the Vera Stanhope books to TV, and BBC Scotland (Case Histories) for BBC One. Elaine Collins exec produces for ITV Studios and Christopher Aird is the executive producer for the BBC. Sue De Beauvoir is the producer.

Shetland will be aired later in 2012.

http://www.anncleeves.com/shetland/index.html
http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/shetland-mystery-for-bbc.17504910
http://www.shetlandarts.org/new-bbc-one-crime-drama-shetland/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2012/aird.html