The 'Towards Zero' Cast Dig Into Their Characters' Chemistry in the Premiere

It’s been two years since the BBC’s last Agatha Christie miniseries adaptation, Murder is Easy, and our mystery-loving bodies are ready for what’s next. And that is the BBC and BritBox’s Towards Zero. The three-night event is an adaptation of Christie’s 1944 novel about family secrets and murder near the sea.

In this period, an accurate but narrative-tweaked version from writer Rachel Bennette (Mill on the Floss) and director Sam Yates (Vanya), Matthew Rhys leads the cast as the troubled Inspector Leach, who is tasked to investigate murder at the estate of Lady Tressilian (Anjelica Huston). The supporting cast that includes Jackie Clune (Marriage), Grace Doherty (Call the Midwife), Khalil Gharbia (Mary & George), Adam Hugill (Sherwood), Ella Lily Hyland (Black Doves), Oliver Jackson-Cohen (Surface), Mimi Keene (Sex Education), and Anjana Vasan (We Are Lady Parts).

This Towards Zero is much sexier than Christie’s book, and more judicious to its female characters, who all have more agency than their text counterparts. There are also interesting explorations of PTSD through the characters of Leach and Tressilian, as well as the expected themes of deception and infidelity.