Stories from the set

The Shetland Islands are an archipelago in the northeast of Scotland, which occupies the northern part of Great Britain; the weather there is bad almost all year round, but in some scenes of the series it is shown to be raining. Sprinkler systems were used during filming.

Actor Steven Robertson (he played a patrol constable, later a detective constable) said that while filming in his native Shetland archipelago he very much enjoyed the opportunity to speak in the local dialect. But when the actor spoke that dialect and used words common in local usage in the southern parts of the country, no one understood him.

In 2016, the series was awarded the BAFTA Scotland award of the Scottish branch of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts in the category "Best Drama Series."

The first seasons of the series are based on the works of Ann Cleeves, the author of detective novels.

In 2015, "Shetland" was nominated for a BAFTA Scotland award (the Scottish branch of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts) in the category «Best Drama Series».

None of the episodes of season 3 is an adaptation of the works of the British writer Ann Cleeves.

Most of the series is set in the Shetland Islands, although it was filmed mainly in mainland Scotland.

Douglas Henshall won a BAFTA in 2016 for his role as Jimmy.