The Scottish crime drama Annika, starring Nicola Walker, has surged into Netflix's top 10, two years after its initial BBC broadcast. The show, which premiered on the BBC in 2023, has found a new audience on the streaming platform, climbing the charts since its recent arrival.
Plot and Premise
Walker plays DI Annika Strandhed, the new lead at Scotland Police's Maritime Homicide Unit, tasked with investigating a series of baffling murders. The character, a single Norwegian mother of a teenager, was originally created for BBC Radio 4, where Walker had portrayed her for a decade before the television adaptation.
The series blends crime-solving with a distinctive tone, breaking the fourth wall in a style reminiscent of Fleabag and House of Cards. In the opening episode, Annika investigates a murder by harpoon, with the show leaning into a protracted Moby Dick analogy. The first season ends with a dramatic reveal of the identity of Annika's daughter's father, and the second season picks up immediately after.
Walker's Approach and Reception
Walker has been candid about the show's creative intentions, telling PBS: 'We're interested in something that's a bit more operatic in its intentions, a bit more dramatic, a bit more theatrical.' The series holds an 83 per cent score on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes.
Speaking about her character, Walker said: 'And what I love about Annika is she is a woman I really think I know, and she is someone I would love. She's funny as well. She's clever, she's well-read, she's odd and weird. If I'd met her in a room, I would definitely gravitate towards her.'
Walker's Career and Future Roles
Walker is no stranger to playing police officers, having starred in Spooks and as Detective Cassie Stuart in ITV's Unforgotten, a role fans have called 'exceptional' in a Reddit thread. She told PBS: 'I think she is one of the finest roles written for a woman on television. I thought we really gave the audience a woman they could believe in.'
After Annika was cancelled last year, Walker moved to the Disney Plus series Alice & Steve, where she plays a mother seeking revenge when her teenage daughter dates her middle-aged friend. She has said she is open to returning to police roles if the script is right: 'I'm all about a great script. And nothing would stop me from doing something if I thought the script was brilliant and someone wanted me to do it.'
Annika is available to stream on Netflix now.
