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A Unique Upcoming Crime Drama Set in Scotland

Daniel Hautzinger
Annika. Photo: UKTV
'Annika' follows the title character as she leads a Marine Homicide Unit in Scotland. Photo: UKTV

Fans of Masterpiece shows are used to adaptations of books, but a new crime drama coming first to WTTW Passport and then WTTW has an atypical source: Annika is based on a BBC radio drama. It's unique in another way as well, in that the title character breaks the fourth wall to confide in the audience as she navigates cases and life. 

That title character is played by a familiar face: Nicola Walker, who played Cassie in Unforgotten and Gillian in Last Tango in Halifax. As DI Annika Strandhed, she heads a Marine Homicide Unit in Glasgow that investigates murders in Scotland's waterways. Her team contains DS Michael McAndrews, played by a familiar Scotsman, Jamie Sives of Guilt; tech expert DC Blair Ferguson (Katie Leung, whom you might recognize as the minor character Margaret from Roadkill); and DS Tyrone Clarke (Ukweli Roach, who has appeared in some episodes of Grantchester and Death in Paradise). Annika's daughter Morgan is played by relative newcomer Silvie Furneaux. 

Annika will be available to stream by WTTW Passport members beginning April 17. It will be broadcast on WTTW as part of Masterpiece in the fall of 2022. Watch a preview below.