Phyllis Logan's 'The Puzzle Lady' Teases a Tipsy Miss Marple

Of all the new series* coming to PBS in the 2025-2026 TV season, there are two I am looking forward to more than most. Bookish, the Mark Gatiss LGBTQ+ 1940s-set series from UKTV and Alibi, and The Puzzle Lady, which gives Phyllis Logan her overdue starring role as a Miss Marple for our era. The former has already been renewed for Season 2 and aired in the U.K., the latter looks well on its way to following suit with a laugh-out-loud teaser and first images that promise this is about as far away from Downton Abbey's Mrs. Hughes as Logan could get.

(*The Gold is technically not new, since it premiered on Paramount+ in 2023, though, since no one watched it, for most viewers, it probably will be.)

Based on the best-selling series of novels by the late Parnell Hall, The Puzzle Lady has been likened to "Miss Marple on steroids" or "Jessica Fletcher meets Groucho Marx," although the trailer suggests it might be more accurate to say "Miss Marple on One Too Many Pints." Logan stars as the novel's titular sleuth, "Puzzle Lady" Cora Felton, a nationally syndicated crossword puzzle maker. Except Cora isn't the genius behind the puzzles — she's a front for the real brains of the family, her niece, Sherry Carter, played by Charlotte Hope (The Spanish Princess).

The series will begin with a six-part adaptation of Parnell's series debut, A Clue for the Puzzle Lady, which the series has retitled to "Murder Most Puzzling." (The Puzzle Lady Mysteries ran 20 installments, so if the plan is to do a book a season, this show will run forever.) Check out the trailer:

Here's the series synopsis:

When a strange murder takes place in the sleepy market town of Bakerbury, the local police are baffled by a crossword puzzle left on the body. With their case going nowhere, they turn reluctantly to Cora Felton, a recent arrival in Bakerbury, whose fame as the eponymous Puzzle Lady suggests she can help DCI Hooper and the Bakerbury police solve their first murder case. But the eccentric Cora isn’t who she claims to be, and as she throws herself into a murder case that has the town’s residents baffled, she starts to gather allies and enemies in equal measure.

While she digs into a cold case she thinks may be connected, she uncovers a dark truth behind another young woman's death. Cora puts herself in the killer's sights, which is a dangerous place to be…

Logan and Hope are joined by a star-studded cast, including Adam Best (All Creatures Great & Small) as DCI Derek Hooper, Nick Danan (Say Nothing) as DS Sam Brody, Jack Weise (The Hardacres) as PC Danny Finley, Alistair Brammer (Dalgliesh) as journalist Anton Grant, and Yasmin Seky (Kin) as lawyer Becky Badwan. 

Supporting cast for the series first outing includes David Crowley (Miss Scarlet), Sarah Alexander (Father Brown), Aidan McArdle (Ridley), Sarah Gallagher (Patience), Richard Croxford (Mrs. Wilson), Dearbháile McKinney (Blue Lights), Conor Sánchez (Inspector Ellis), Fiona Browne (Obituary), Chris Patrick-Simpson (Art Detectives), Trevor Kaneswaran (Bad Sisters), Simon Haines (The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power), and newcomers Amber Mendez-Martin, Ismay Dalton, and Emmett Dalton.

Writer Dominique Moloney (Shakespeare & Hathaway) adapted the novels for television, penning all six episodes, with director Tom Dalton (The Greatest Show Never Made) helming all installments. The series is Factual Fiction's first fictional drama. (The company's previous series were scripted factual series, like ITV's The Queen Unseen.) 

The Puzzle Lady is executive produced by Moloney, Dalton, Patrick Irwin & Emily Dalton for Factual Fiction; Paul Testar & Sebastian Cardwell for Channel 5; Todd Berger & Julie Di Cresce for December Films; Jennifer Chen for Channel Zero Studios; Daniel Mekinda for GroupM Motion Entertainment; and Yi Qiao & Robert Franke for ZDF Studios. Northern Ireland Screen provided additional funding. 

The Puzzle Lady premieres on Channel 5 at 8 p.m. BT, Thursday, June 19, 2025. It is expected to air on PBS as part of the 2025-2026 TV season.