Detective Inspector Ruth Calder will lead the show for a new six-week run. 

With Douglas Henshall’s Jimmy Perez leaving the show it’s all change for the Scottish crime drama.

For Shetland series 8, Ashley Jensen (Catastrophe, After Life) takes over as the new lead DI Ruth Calder. While she works for the Met, it appears that Calder has a complicated history with the Islands…

Here’s the synopsis:

Originally based on award-winning novels by crime writer Ann Cleeves, the new series sees Met Police Detective Inspector Ruth Calder (Ashley Jensen), return to her native Shetland to retrieve the vulnerable witness to a gangland murder. Tosh (Alison O’Donnell) must pause her investigation into a string of mysterious animal deaths to help Calder find the witness before it’s too late.

However, Calder’s hostility to Shetland will challenge Tosh’s view of her adopted home, and their journey into the darker recesses of Shetland’s past and present will test this fragile new partnership.

Joining Ashley Jensen and Alison O’Donnell, the returning cast of Shetland are Steven Robertson (DC Sandy Wilson), Lewis Howden (Sgt Billy McCabe), Anne Kidd (Cora McLean), Angus Miller (Donnie), Conor McCarry (PC Alex Grant) and Eubha Akilade (PC Lorna Burns).

The guest cast are Phyllis Logan, Jamie Sives, Dawn Steele, Don Gilet, Ann Louise Ross and Lorraine McIntosh.

The series 8 writers are Paul Logue, with Denise Paul and Vivienne Harvey. The producer is Louise V Say, the directors are Andy Newbery and Giulia Gandini. Executive Producers are Gaynor Holmes for the BBC, Kate Bartlett and Denise Paul for Silverprint Pictures (part of ITV Studios).

Shetland series 8 comes to BBC One and BBC iPlayer on Wednesday, 1st November 2023.

Series 1 – 7 are available to stream on iPlayer.