Agatha Christie's 'Murder Is Easy' to Ease in to U.S. in March
Penelope Wilton as Miss Pinkerton and David Jonsson as Fitzwilliam in 'Murder is Easy'
BBC/Mammoth Screen/Anne Binckebanck
It's been just over three years since Sarah Phelps ended her run as the BBC's appointed scribe for Agatha Christie adaptations with 2020's The Pale Horse, a series done in conjunction with Amazon's Prime Video. Since then, the BBC has moved to a joint venture with BritBox International for the new set of Christie mysteries, starting with 2022's Hugh Laurie passion project Why Didn't They Ask Evans. The second of this new group, Murder is Easy, is set to arrive in the U.S. after receiving rapturous reviews in the U.K.
This latest Agatha Christie adaptation from BritBox, ITV, and Mammoth Screen debuted in the U.K. over the holidays at the end of 2023 to controversy, though not the kind Phelps provoked with her aging Poirots and unconventional spins on Christie classics. Murder Is Easy cast Industry breakout David Jonsson as the leading amateur detective in this series, which does not feature any of Christie's usual sleuths. However, his casting is not color blind but color conscious, with the script explicitly making his character a Nigerian immigrant.
The series also reset Murder Is Easy in the 1950s, making Fitzwilliam part of the post-Windrush generation and adding a racial element to how upper-class suspects dismiss his investigations. The mystery doesn't just tackle murders in a small quaint village, exposing the ugly underbelly of the small-town atmosphere, but also tackles the horrible attitudes towards colonialism and immigration of the era, attitudes that are still far too relevant in post-Brexit England today.
Here's the two-part mystery's synopsis:
Based on the classic Agatha Christie mystery, Murder Is Easy tells the story of Luke Fitzwilliam, who finds himself on the trail of a serial killer after meeting Miss Pinkerton on a train to London. She tells him about a series of suspicious deaths that have taken place in her village. When she later turns up dead herself – while on the way to visit Scotland Yard – Fitzwilliam realizes he needs to find the killer before yet more bodies start piling up.
The two-part series stars Jonsson (Industry), Penelope Wilton (Downton Abbey), Morfydd Clark (Lord of the Rings), and Douglas Henshall (Shetland). Co-stars include Tom Riley (The Nevers), Mathew Baynton (Ghosts), Mark Bonnar (Guilt), Sinead Matthews (The Crown), Nimra Bucha (Ms. Marvel), Tamzin Outhwaite (Ridley Road), Jon Pointing (Big Boys), and newcomer Phoebe Licorish.
The two-part series is adapted by Siân Ejiwunmi-Le Berre (Dangerous Liaisons) and directed by Meenu Gaur (World on Fire). The series is produced by ITV's Mammoth Screen and Agatha Christie Limited and executive produced by Ejiwunmi-Le Berre, James Prichard for Agatha Christie Limited, James Gandhi and Damien Timmer for Mammoth Screen, Danielle Scott-Haughton for the BBC, and Reemah Sakaan and Stephen Nye for BritBox International.
Murder is Easy will debut on BritBox in the U.S. with both episodes on Friday, March 1, 2024.
