Netflix Takes on 'A Good Girl's Guide to Murder'

You know a British author has made it in the YA space when they land a TV adaptation of their trilogy of novels. That’s precisely what happened to Holly Jackson, author of A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder. The best-selling books have both British and American versions, with the U.S. ones set in Connecticut, which is the closest one gets in America to Buckinghamshire, I guess. However, the BBC decided to option the rights and act on them first, so the series was set in its original home country. However, the novel’s heroine, 17-year-old true crime enthusiast Pippa “Pip” Fitz-Amobi, went to an American actor, Emma Myers, best known to most as the breakout star of Netflix’s Wednesday, as the titular character’s BFF Enid, a happy-go-lucky ray of sunshine who also happened to be a werewolf. 

Perhaps this calculated casting by the BBC was simply putting the best actor in the role, or maybe it was in hopes of getting the deep-pocketed streaming service’s attention in hopes it (and its funding) would board the project, giving the series a genuine chance at hit status in America, and much better odds of a Season 2 renewal. (This is a trilogy, after all!) Either way, Netflix has looked at the finished product and decided it will do the sensible thing and back Myers’ probable franchise by streaming it here in the U.S.

The BBC already released the first images from the series a few weeks back, but Netflix has now added two more to the group to mark its official onboarding.

Here's the series synopsis:

Five years ago, schoolgirl Andie Bell was murdered by her boyfriend Sal Singh. Case closed. The police know he did it. Everyone in town knows he did it. But smart and single-minded Pip Fitz-Amobi isn't so sure, and she’s determined to prove it. And if Sal Singh isn’t a murderer and the real killer is still out there, how far will they go to keep Pip from the truth?

Myers stars alongside newcomer Zain Iqbal as the two main leads. The series co-stars Anna Maxwell Martin (Until I Kill You), Gary Beadle (Grantchester), Adam Astill (Unforgotten), Mathew Baynton (Murder is Easy), and Annabel Mullion (Victoria). The cast also includes Henry Ashton (My Lady Jane), Orla Hill (Stonehouse), Carla Woodcock (Such Brave Girls), Yasmin Al-Khudhairi (Rye Lane), Jackson Bews (London Kills), India Lillie Davies (Call the Midwife), Jessica Webber (Followers), Matthew Khan (Bard from the Barn), Rahul Pattni (Casualty), Oliver Wickham (Wednesday) and TV newcomers Mitu Panicucci, Ephraim Sampson, and Georgia Aaron. 

Poppy Cogan (Dangerous Liaisons) adapted all six episodes, along with Zia Ahmed, Ajoke Ibironke, and Ruby Thomas, from the first book of Holly Jackson's wildly best-selling YA trilogy of the same name. Director Dolly Wells (Good Posture) helmed all installments with Florence Walker producing. Wells, Jackson, and Cogan are also listed as executive producers, alongside Matthew Read, Matthew Bouch, and Frith Tiplady for Moonage Pictures, Lucy Richer and Danielle Scott-Haughton for the BBC, and Jonas Melcher for ZDFneo.

A Good Girl's Guide to Murder Season 1 will premiere on Netflix with all six episodes later in 2024 after it airs/streams in the U.K. on BBC Three and iPlayer.