The new series of Shetland is about to start and you might well be wondering how to watch both the upcoming season 8 episodes and the previous seasons.
It might seem like an extraordinarily long time since the season 7 ending aired and left us all wondering about who would take Douglas Henshall’s place as the lead star, but now what promises to be a very different Shetland series 8 is about to land. Starring Ashley Jensen as DI Ruth Calder taking over DI Jimmy Perez’s role, the new series of Shetland will also see the return of many familiar faces. We can look forward to watching the likes of Tosh and Sandy back in investigative action on a brand new case. Inspired by Ann Cleeves’ Shetland book series the drama has run for ten years and there are so many brilliant episodes to re-watch.
Here we reveal how to watch the new series of Shetland and how to enjoy the show from the very beginning so you’re ready for season 8…
*Warning: Spoilers ahead*
How to watch the new series of Shetland
Whether you’ve been an avid Shetland fan since the very beginning when each episode still directly adapted the plots of Ann Cleeves’ bestselling Shetland novels or have discovered the show more recently, the new series of Shetland is one you won’t want to miss. Anyone who can’t wait to see how Ashley Jensen’s DI Ruth Calder finds stepping into DI Jimmy Perez’s shoes at Lerwick Police Station should head to BBC One. Shetland series 8 will be airing at 9pm on BBC One and episodes will also be available afterwards to watch via BBC iPlayer.
Each of the episodes will continue to air in this time slot going forwards, meaning Wednesdays have just become one of the most important days of the week for Shetland fans. Sadly, if you’re based outside of the UK then you won’t be able to watch it as international air dates or networks haven’t yet been confirmed for the BBC drama. And if you’re a UK resident but will be abroad when the new series of Shetland airs then you won’t be able to enjoy the atmospheric show as you normally would at home thanks to regional restrictions.
Luckily there’s an easy solution and you can use a VPN to continue watching. This is a handy bit of software that changes your IP address so that you can access on-demand content or live TV just as if you were at home.
Our sister site, TechRadar, has tested all of the major VPN services and they rate ExpressVPN as the absolute best. They say, “It’s compatible with all of your devices, supports most streaming services, and ranks among the fastest. You can even install it on devices like an Amazon Fire TV Stick, Apple TV, Xbox, and PlayStation. So for a one-stop-shop, you can’t go wrong with Express.”
When does the new series of Shetland start?
Ever since it was announced that the Shetland season 8 cast would feature Ashley Jensen many fans might well have been waiting in equal excitement and curiosity for the arrival of the new series of Shetland. Thankfully, that wait is now almost over as a little over a year after the season 7 ending concluded Jimmy Perez’s story, Shetland series 8 will begin on Wednesday 1st November. The new series of Shetland will introduce DI Ruth Calder and although it’s not yet known how many episodes it will have, it’s likely that it will mirror the previous instalments (apart from series 1) and be six episodes long.
Who is DI Ruth Calder in Shetland?
When it was first announced that Douglas Henshall was leaving Shetland after series 7 viewers were left to speculate about who could replace him as the lead detective. Whilst it was possible that his loyal DS Alison ‘Tosh’ McIntosh could’ve stepped up given the conversation they had in the series 7 finale, it was eventually confirmed that Ashley Jensen would be playing a new DI leading the team - Ruth Calder. Ruth Calder is described as someone who grew up in the Shetland Islands before spending twenty years away working in the Metropolitan Police.
She’s the daughter of a late reverend and her estranged brother is now a minister at the church. As of the new series of Shetland, she’s back on the islands and according to Tosh’s actor Alison O’Donnell the dynamic between her character and Ruth is going to be interesting to say the least.
"They're both incredibly driven, they're both experienced, but they're coming from different backgrounds, they've had different journeys to get to where they are, this level of seniority," she told RadioTimes.com.
Alison added, "I've described it as being a very restless relationship, it never really settles down. And I think it's quite an unusual dynamic for TV. I'm not sure I can think of lots of examples of a relationship like that. They don't immediately become best friends, but they're not enemies, they have a common goal."
How to watch Shetland from the beginning
Over the seven series that have aired so far Shetland has given us plenty of heart-stopping moments like what happened to Tosh in season 7, as well as some pretty spectacular scenery to admire. This is especially evident when you re-watch Shetland from the very beginning and if you’re yet to dive into the BBC drama and want to start from series 1 before making your way to series 8 then prepare to be well and truly drawn in. As with the new series of Shetland, the place to head to watch the drama from the start is BBC and specifically BBC iPlayer.
Whilst it hasn’t always been the case given how programmes come and go over time on the streaming platform, currently Shetland series 1-7 are available to watch on iPlayer. So whether you’ve never seen any episodes before or want a Shetland series 7 recap before series 8 premieres, it’s super easy to enjoy the journey so far.
