Premieres on PBS Passport & the PBS Masterpiece Prime Video Channel on April 17, 2022

Arlington, VA – March 16, 2022 –  Set on a scenic river amid stunning Scottish lochs, Glasgow has an unusually high rate of slayings connected to water. At least, it does in MASTERPIECE’s gorgeous new crime series starring Nicola Walker (Unforgotten, Last Tango in Halifax) as DI Annika Strandhed, the speedboat-driving head of the city’s newly-formed Marine Homicide Unit. “Annika’s” six suspenseful episodes will have a special premiere on PBS Passport, an added member benefit which provides extended access to a digital, on-demand library of PBS programs, and the PBS MASTERPIECE Prime Video Channel on April 17, 2022. The subscription rate for the PBS MASTERPIECE Prime Video Channel is $5.99/month with an Amazon Prime or Prime Video subscription. The series will have a television broadcast in Fall 2022.

A police procedural with wit, “Annika”delighted critics during its recent UK broadcast. “The dialogue is so droll and the performances so charming I’m in for what fisherfolk call the long haul,” enthused the reviewer for The Guardian and The Times offered this praise, “Annika allows Walker to let loose a warm sense of humor.”

Walker is joined by Jamie Sives (Guilt) as DS Michael McAndrews, Annika’s old colleague, who resents being passed over for the DI job but performs at full throttle as her second-in-command; Katie Leung (Harry Potter) as DC Blair Ferguson, the forensic brains behind the unit; and Ukweli Roach (Grantchester) as DS Tyrone Clarke, the new cop at the station, who requested a posting with the legendary Annika.

Also appearing are Silvie Furneaux (Limbo) as Morgan, Annika’s rebellious teenage daughter, and Paul McGann (Luther) as Morgan’s therapist Jake Strathearn, who develops into something of a soul mate for single mom Annika.

While other TV detectives discuss the case exclusively with their team, Annika addresses viewers directly, “breaking the fourth wall” that separates the action from the audience.

Annika’s strikingly effective M.O. is to link the crime under investigation to her obsessive reading of literature and mythology. For example, the harpoon manner of death in Episode One starts her musing about Herman Melville’s Moby Dick and its ruinous quest for a white whale, which provides an oblique clue to the murderer’s motive.

Similarly, Episode Two features the discovery of a corpse on the boat Valkyrie, linking the crime—in Annika’s mind—to the female warrior deities who gave the vessel its name. As Annika closes in on the fugitive killer, it suddenly occurs to her that Valkyries “don’t run; they fly.”

Uncannily real, Walker’s interpretation of Annika draws on the popular radio drama Annika Stranded, which aired in 31 episodes on BBC Radio 4 between 2013 and 2020. Walker was the one-woman star of that series, with scripts by Nick Walker (no relation). The two Walkers have now teamed up again to bring Annika to television in all her complexity, vulnerability, and eccentric affability.

“I’ve been Annika a long time now,” says Nicola Walker, “and if there was a chance of getting her fully fleshed out in a real-world environment, I wanted to be part of it.”

Series Description

Fishing bodies from the waters around Glasgow, Scotland, DI Annika Strandhed and her newly-formed Marine Homicide Unit face a steady stream of murders in this new series,

starring Nicola Walker as the title character. Confiding her thoughts directly to viewers, Annika juggles baffling cases and a rebellious teenage daughter. The former are easier to solve than the latter. “Droll and…charming,” praised The Guardian (London).

Episode One

Annika assembles her team to solve murders in the waters around Glasgow. Their first case looks a lot like a whale hunt gone wrong.

Episode Two

Annika’s teenage daughter, Morgan, gets mixed up with suspects in a revenge slaying. Norse saga comes to life as Annika’s team closes in.

Episode Three

Annika sees one of playwright Ibsen’s plots play out in a homicide. Meanwhile, she takes more than a parental interest in Morgan’s therapist, Jake.

Episode Four

An author who has ruined lives has her own ruined—permanently. Blair finds a friend for Morgan. Annika and Jake go to a museum exhibit.

Episode Five

Arriving at a murder scene on a party boat, Annika thinks of the Greek god of unrestrained celebration. From there, things only get more chaotic.

Episode Six

Michael’s brother is the prime suspect in his ex’s murder. Annika goes for what looks like a one-way ride. A secret about Michael comes out.

Annika is a UKTV Original Production by Black Camel Pictures in co-production with MASTERPIECE and in association with All3Media International, and Screen Scotland. The executive producers are Nicole Fitzpatrick, Jennifer Armitage, Susanne Simpson, David Swetman, Philippa Collie Cousins, and Arabella Page Croft. The producer is Kieran Parker. The series is created and written by Nick Walker. The writers are Lucia Haynes and Frances Poet. The directors are Philip John and Fiona Walton.

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