Actor Steven Robertson has said that one of the things he loves most about filming in the Shetland islands where he was born and grew up is that he can speak in the Shetland dialect. When he uses the dialect and some Shetland words down south, nobody can understand him.
Douglas Henshall won the 2016 BAFTA Scotland award for best actor for his role as Jimmy Perez in Shetland (2013).
Despite the fact that the Shetland Islands are the most northerly place in the UK and can have very rain any month of the year, sprinklers were used to create fake rain in some of the scenes.
Renewed for a 5th season in 2018.
Some of the scenes weren't filmed in Shetland, with some being filmed on the Scottish mainland.