The First Look at Agatha Christie's 'Murder is Easy' Introduces the Cast of Suspects
Penelope Wilton as Miss Pinkerton and David Jonsson as Fitzwilliam in 'Murder is Easy'
BBC/Mammoth Screen/Anne Binckebanck
BritBox and the BBC continue their Agatha Christie miniseries universe post-Sarah Phelps with the second stand-alone non-famous detective story Murder is Easy. The two-part story comes after 2022's remarkably well-received take on the relatively under-adapted Why Didn't They Ask Evans? Like Evans, Easy is a story that doesn't have a Poirot or Marple or even the Partners in Crime of Tommy and Tuppence. Instead, it's a citizen detective story where a retired detective takes up a case out of the goodness of his heart and the desire to see justice done.
That being said, Murder Is Easy is one Marple fans will know because the story is easily adaptable into a Marple story. It begins with an elderly lady on a train to Scotland Yard. She's discovered that the spate of passings in her small village is not a random series of accidents but murder, and she's figured out who. However, she never makes it to the police. In the original novel, she tells her story to Fitzwilliam, a retired detective who just returned from being stationed in India. In the Marple-ized versions, she tells it to Jane (obviously).
In either case, her story and her failed mission galvanize her companion to take up the task she leaves unfinished. For this adaptation, the miniseries has aged down Fitzwilliam into a much younger man, just home from war, giving us a dashing young detective.
David Jonsson as FitzWilliam in Murder is Easy
BBC/Mammoth Screen/Anne Binckebanck
Here's the miniseries synopsis:
England, 1954. On a train to London, Fitzwilliam (David Jonsson) meets Miss Pinkerton (Penelope Wilton), who tells him that a killer is on the loose in the sleepy English village of Wychwood under Ashe.
The villagers believe the deaths are mere accidents, but Miss Pinkerton knows otherwise – and when she's later found dead on her way to Scotland Yard, Fitzwilliam feels he must find the killer before they can strike again. Because for a certain kind of person, murder is easy…
Now let's get a look at our suspects.
Morfydd Clark as Bridget and Tom Riley as Lord Whitfield in 'Murder is Easy'
BBC/Mammoth Screen/Mark Mainz
On the left is Bridget Conway, the cousin of Fitzwilliam's friend and his in on the case, Jimmy Lorrimer. On the right is her very rich fiancé, Lord Whitfield, who owns Ashe Manor.
Mark Bonnar as Rev Humbleby and Mathew Baynton as Dr Thomas in 'Murder is Easy'
BBC/Mammoth Screen/Mark Mainz
The local reverend and the local doctor, one of whom will be a victim very soon.
Douglas Henshall as Major Horton in 'Murder is Easy'
BBC/Mammoth Screen/Mark Mainz
And finally, Major Horton, everyone's favorite bulldog-owning widower.
Murder is Easy is headlined by David Jonsson (Industry), Penelope Wilton (Downton Abbey), Morfydd Clark (Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power), Tom Riley (The Nevers), Douglas Henshall (Shetland), Mathew Baynton (Ghosts), and Mark Bonnar (Guilt) Co-stars for the series include 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 BBC One and Player before the end of 2023. It is expected to debut on BritBox in early 2024.
