Shetland
BBC ONE, 9.00PM; WALES, 10.40PM
The fourth series of two-part Ann Cleeves adaptations gets off to an excellent start, with a plausible case, well-drawn local community and of course gloriously wild scenery. Thomas Malone (Steven Walters) has had his conviction for murdering teenager Lizzie Kilmuir overturned and is released after 23 years in jail. This means trouble for Jimmy Perez (Douglas Henshall) and his team as they face both the wrath and potential vigilantes of the local community and the prospect of reopening a case many would prefer remained closed – not least the retired detective who secured Malone’s conviction. All this, and the return of Perez’s daughter from university, nursing a broken heart, leave him looking stretched. And then another body turns up in circumstances that recall Lizzie’s murder – but is it Malone, or a copycat?
Boiled down to hourly chunks, Shetland doesn’t drag like Vera (ITV’S Cleeves adaptation), and although Henshall may be a less idiosyncratic lead than Brenda Blethyn, he’s no less appealing and a good deal more unsettling – decent, yet conceivably capable of dark deeds. Mark Bonnar and Neve Mcintosh round out a fine cast, and the story concludes next week. Gabriel Tate