The crime drama genre is about to get a seismic upgrade. BBC One and ITV have announced The Cold Case Reckoning, a six-part miniseries starring Douglas Henshall (Shetland) and Matthew Goode (Dept Q), set to premiere in spring 2026. This ambitious crossover unites the brooding Scottish detective with the analytical Danish investigator in a joint probe into Britain’s most infamous unsolved murder: the 1990s “Ice Princess” case, a grisly killing that shattered a quiet Highland community and left a trail of buried secrets spanning decades.
Henshall, 59, reprises a version of his iconic DI Jimmy Perez from Shetland, now on temporary assignment to the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) for international cases. His character, haunted by personal losses and the relentless Shetland winds, brings an atmospheric, introspective edge to the investigation. Goode, 47, embodies Carl Morck from Dept Q, the no-nonsense Copenhagen cop whose sharp intellect and moral ambiguity drive the series’ psychological core. Their uneasy alliance—born of a cross-border lead linking the Scottish victim to a Danish smuggling ring—promises fireworks, as Perez’s instinctual hunches clash with Morck’s data-driven precision.
Filmed across the misty Scottish Highlands and Copenhagen’s stark urban sprawl, The Cold Case Reckoning promises a fusion of Shetland‘s fog-shrouded isolation and Dept Q‘s claustrophobic interrogations. The plot centers on the 1993 murder of a young woman found frozen in a Highland loch, her body marked with cryptic symbols tied to a Nordic cult. As Perez and Morck dig, they uncover a web of betrayal: a corrupt politician, a grieving father with secrets, and a network of human traffickers exploiting post-Cold War chaos. Twists abound—alliances fracture, alibis crumble, and a shocking revelation ties the case to both detectives’ personal demons, forcing them to confront their own “cold cases” of regret.
Creator David Kane, who penned Shetland‘s acclaimed seasons, co-wrote with Dept Q‘s Tobias Lindholm, blending British restraint with Scandinavian noir. “It’s not just about solving a murder,” Kane told The Guardian. “It’s about the horror of what we bury—literally and figuratively.” Early screeners rave about the chemistry: Henshall’s weathered gravitas grounds Goode’s sardonic charm, creating a dynamic duo that’s “more tense than Luther, more human than The Killing.” Supporting cast includes Scottish rising star Aimee-Ffion Edwards as a local cop and Danish veteran Ulrich Thomsen as a shadowy suspect.
With Shetland ending its ninth season in 2025 and Dept Q‘s film adaptations grossing $200M globally, The Cold Case Reckoning arrives at a peak for international crime crossovers. BBC and ITV’s co-production, budgeted at £15M, taps into Britain’s obsession with psychological thrillers—Line of Duty averaged 10 million viewers in 2024. Critics previewing the first two episodes call it “a masterclass in slow-burn suspense,” with one Telegraph reviewer noting, “Henshall and Goode’s clash is electric; the horror feels achingly real.”
As the series promises to eclipse its predecessors, fans are buzzing: Will Perez’s intuition crack the case, or Morck’s logic unravel it? One thing’s certain—the cold case’s thaw will chill to the bone. In a genre bloated with procedurals, The Cold Case Reckoning stands out as a haunting hybrid, proving that when two worlds collide, the truth is the real killer.
