BBC One has announced that murder mystery drama Shetland has been commissioned for a further two series.


Douglas Henshall (Primeval) takes the lead role as Jimmy Perez, a detective inspector who investigates murders for the Shetland police force.

The fifth series premiered on BBC One in February to an audience of more than seven million people, with series six and seven set to film in 2020 and 2021 respectively.


Gaynor Holmes, Commissioning Editor for BBC Drama Scotland, said: "We are really proud of Shetland, the crime series led by DI Perez and his team has proved hugely popular with audiences both in Scotland and across the rest of the UK. BBC One viewers are set for an unmissable series from David Kane when it returns next year."

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The series is shot around the Shetland Islands, one of the most remote areas of the British Isles, as well as several other locations in Scotland.

The newly announced sixth and seventh series will see the return of Henshall in the lead, along with writer David Kane who has worked on Shetland since it began.

The show is adapted from a series of novels by author Ann Cleeves, who also wrote the books that ITV's Vera is based on.


Executive producer Kate Bartlett added: "I’m so thrilled to be making two more series of Shetland for the BBC, with our wonderful Scottish cast and crew. David Kane creates distinctive and emotionally complex narratives that unfold against the stunning, evocative landscapes of Shetland, with DI Jimmy Perez (Douglas Henshall) at the heart of it all."