Nicola Walker Is Brilliant… Her Acclaimed 12-Episode Scottish Detective Drama Has Found New Life On Netflix — But U.S. Viewers Searching For It Are In For A Surprise! Annika mixes intriguing murder cases, dry humour and Walker’s distinctive fourth-wall-breaking detective across two gripping seasons. All 12 episodes are on Netflix UK, but American fans will need to look elsewhere.

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Nicola Walker’s Acclaimed Scottish Crime Drama Finds New Streaming Life — But U.S. Viewers Won’t Find It on Netflix

Nicola Walker’s distinctive Scottish detective drama Annika has been attracting fresh attention, with viewers once again discussing the series and trying to work out where its two seasons can currently be streamed.

The renewed interest comes at a time when streaming availability can vary dramatically between countries. A series might appear on one major platform in the UK while remaining completely absent from the same service in the United States.

That is exactly the situation facing Annika. While British viewers have gained another way to discover Nicola Walker’s unconventional detective, American audiences need to look elsewhere.

Is Annika on Netflix in the United States?

Annika is not currently available on Netflix in the U.S.

Instead, American viewers can find the series through PBS, where it is presented as part of MASTERPIECE. PBS confirms that Annika is available through PBS.org and the PBS app, with episodes accessible through PBS Passport.

PBS currently lists episodes from both seasons. Season 1 premiered on the service in October 2022, while Season 2 followed beginning in October 2023. PBS listings also indicate that Annika is available through MASTERPIECE on Amazon Prime Video.

The situation is different for British audiences. According to the original report, both seasons and all 12 episodes arrived on Netflix UK on August 16, 2026, giving the drama an opportunity to reach a new audience several years after its original television debut.

What is Annika about?

Walker stars as Detective Inspector Annika Strandhed, who leads Glasgow’s fictional Marine Homicide Unit. Her team specializes in unusual murder investigations connected to Scotland’s rivers, lochs and surrounding waterways.

PBS describes the premise as following Annika and her Marine Homicide Unit as they investigate murders found in Scotland’s waters, while Annika simultaneously navigates life as the mother of her teenage daughter, Morgan.

But the setting is only part of what separates Annika from a conventional British police procedural.

The series combines murder mysteries with dry humor and literary references, while Walker’s character regularly breaks the fourth wall and speaks directly to viewers. Her observations can move from details of the investigation to mythology, literature and stories connected to her Norwegian heritage.

That unusual relationship with the audience gives Annika a tone quite different from many darker crime dramas.

Nicola Walker leads a strong ensemble

Alongside Walker, the series features Jamie Sives, Katie Leung and Ukweli Roach, while Paul McGann, Varada Sethu and Kate Dickie are also among the recognizable names associated with the drama.

The investigations remain central, but Annika also devotes significant attention to Strandhed’s personal life, particularly her sometimes complicated relationship with Morgan.

PBS’s episode descriptions illustrate how closely those two sides of her life can overlap. One Season 1 investigation, for example, sees Morgan becoming connected to suspects in a revenge killing, while Season 2 continues to intertwine Annika’s family relationships with the cases confronting her team.

A crime drama that ended after two seasons

Nicola Walker's acclaimed crime drama Annika is coming to Netflix | Radio Times

Despite building a devoted following, Annika did not continue beyond its second season.

That means newcomers discovering the series now have a relatively compact crime binge ahead of them: two seasons comprising 12 episodes rather than a sprawling procedural requiring years of catching up.

Its arrival on another major streaming platform in the UK has therefore given the series another opportunity to find viewers after its original run.

For U.S. audiences, however, Netflix is not currently the destination. The clearest option remains PBS MASTERPIECE, with PBS confirming that the drama can be streamed through its website and app, including extended access through PBS Passport.

For fans of Nicola Walker — or viewers looking for a Scottish crime drama that mixes murder investigations with humor, family complications and an unusual fourth-wall-breaking detective — Annika remains an easy series to overlook, but an intriguing one to rediscover.