Granite Harbour, the BBC's Aberdeen-set detective drama, returns tonight for its third series, with fans drawing comparisons to the beloved Scottish crime drama Shetland.
The series originally debuted in 2022 and last aired its second series in May 2024. The synopsis for tonight's opening episode reads: "A missing persons case turns into a double murder investigation and age-old tensions between the traveller and traditional Aberdonian communities threaten to explode."
"Davis and the team call on the help of an experienced liaison officer to find a way into the travelling community as understanding it quickly is pivotal to finding the truth."
Plot Details
The new series follows teenage café employee Lisa Sterling, who vanishes into the woodland surrounding the upmarket estate of Richard Loughty after a birthday party for Rose Gough, head of the local traveller community. Come morning, Lisa's remains are found at the foot of a ravine, and what first seems like a terrible accident is swiftly established as murder.
DCI Cora MacMillan and her colleagues launch an investigation, facing greater scrutiny than ever. In the wake of their last prominent case, Chief Constable Alan Willis has commissioned an inquiry by the Special Police Investigations Service (SPIS). Just when the squad seem to be getting closer to the truth, a startling revelation compels them to reassess everything they believed about Lisa's killing, leaving Lindo and Bart confronting a considerably more sinister puzzle than they initially thought.
Comparisons to Shetland
Viewers have taken to IMDb to share their verdicts on how the two shows compare. One viewer wrote: "The other reviews are just negative for the portrayal of Aberdeen and the comparison to Shetland. I've heard of neither so this is purely based on the show. Three episodes and a simple whodunnit case. Very easy watch and I genuinely didn't guess the end when I usually do at shows like this."
Another noted visual similarities, writing: "The sweeping scenery is reminiscent of Shetland but the bizarre music is an odd choice for this arena." Not all viewers were impressed, however. One wrote: "It was nice to have a crime drama set in Aberdeen and in Scotland, but this isn't a Shetland or Taggart or Vera." Others drew wider comparisons, with one viewer writing: "Death in Paradise meets Taggart."
