Just ahead of her exit on CBS’ hit legal drama The Good Wife, Archie Panjabi has lined up her next role.
The critically acclaimed actress, who has also starred as Pathologist Tanya Reed Smith on the first two seasons of BBC Two’s The Fall, has booked a guest starring role on the upcoming third season of BBC One’s Douglas Henshall fronted drama series Shetland, TVWise has learned.
Shetland, which hails from ITV Studios, follows Jimmy Perez (Henshall), a native Shetlander who has returned home after a long spell away to lead a murder investigation. Steven Robertson, Alison O’Donnell, Mark Bonnar and Frances Gray also star. As previously reported, the third season will consist of six episodes, just as the second season did.
There is no word on exactly which character Archie Panjabi will play in Shetland’s third season. But her casting comes just as she is wrapping he six season run on The Good Wife and after 20th Century Fox Television said they were developing a drama pilot to be toplined by the actress. Sources also say that she is on-board for the third season of The Fall, which is eyed for a late 2015 production start in Belfast (though that may slip to early 2016).
Shetland’s third season will take a more serialised approach, following one case across the six episodes. The case in question is the disappearance of a young man on a ferry crossing from Aberdeen to Lerwick. Suspecting foul play, DI Perez and his team begin an investigation which has far-reaching consequences for them all and the local community. The episodes are being penned by Gaby Chiappe, Robert Murphy & David Kane, and will be directed by Thaddeus O’Sullivan and Jan Matthys. The executive producers are Elaine Collins and Christopher Aird.
In addition to Archie Panjabi, other guest stars lined up for the third season of Shetland include Ciaran Hinds (Game of Thrones), Anna Chancellor (Downtown Abbey), James Cosmo (Troy), Saskia Reeves (Luther), Sara Vickers (Endeavour), Jack Greenlees (Stonemouth), Jamie Michie (Game Of Thrones), Mark Cox (Still Game), Kate Donnelly (Still Game) and Andrew Rothney (Outlander).