# Annika (2021)

> A sharp, witty DI leads a specialist Marine Homicide Unit into brutal, seemingly unfathomable murders.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/107775

## Facts

- Seasons: 2
- Episodes: 12
- Episode runtime: 48 min
- Status: Canceled
- Genres: crime, mystery, drama
- Created by: Nick Walker
- Network: U&Alibi
- Cast: Nicola Walker, Jamie Sives, Katie Leung, Silvie Furneaux, Ukweli Roach, Imogen Mackie Walker, Kate Dickie, Saskia Ashdown
- TMDB rating: 7.3/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13643704/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: measured
- Intensity: moderate
- Complexity: accessible
- Violence: moderate
- Tone: witty, enigmatic, brutal, wry, intelligent

## What critics say

Viewers rate Annika as a positive, intelligent British crime drama whose witty, fourth-wall-breaking lead and sharp dialogue lift it above the usual conveyor belt of UK procedurals, though the second season is rated lower than the first.

## Synopsis

Annika (2021-2023) is a British crime drama series created by Nick Walker for U&Alibi, adapted from a novel. Nicola Walker plays DI Annika Strandhed, a sharp, witty and enigmatic detective who heads a newly formed specialist Marine Homicide Unit. Her team includes DS Michael McAndrews (Jamie Sives), DC Blair Ferguson (Katie Leung) and DS Tyrone Clarke (Ukweli Roach), with DCI Diane Oban (Kate Dickie) appearing in the wider story. The engine of the series is the unit's struggle to investigate murders that seem unexplained, brutal and almost unfathomable, with each episode unpacking a case through interviews, forensic legwork and the detectives' own complicated lives. Annika runs for two seasons of six episodes each, a compact British procedural rather than an open-ended saga. Its defining signal is the lead's habit of stepping outside the drama to address the audience directly in asides, a device reviewers found intelligent and surprisingly effective. The register is cool and wry, with a grim undercurrent of violence and a restless, slightly eerie atmosphere. Viewers who enjoy Shetland for its character-led investigations, or Wallander for its brooding Scandinavian-style detective work, will find a similar appeal here, though Annika leans more on wit and direct address than on pure atmosphere.

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