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When you think of an Agatha Christie whodunnit, specific murder mysteries come to mind. Some stories begin as traditional cases but end with startling revelations, the kind that "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd" executes all too well. Then there are the thrilling, challenging titles, like Christie's "Murder on the Orient Express," which presents a huge cast of suspects harboring grudges within a kinetic setting. Sometimes, Christie challenges the brilliance of her own heroic figures, such as when detective Hercule Poirot races against time to catch a serial killer in "The ABC Murders." While every whodunnit has a distinct flavor, Christie's strengths as a writer lie in hiding the truth in plain sight and pulling off concluding twists with conviction. One of the more overlooked Christie murder mysteries embodying these strengths best is 1934's "Why Didn't They Ask Evans?," which keeps readers guessing up until the big reveal.

While playing golf...

The BBC’s latest Agatha Christie adaptation concluded last night ahead of ITV’s Why Didn’t They Ask Evans? from over the Easter Weekend.

Agatha Christie’s Murder is Easy, starring Industry’s David Jonsson as an amateur sleuth working with Rings of Power star Morfydd Clark, was watched by 2.8M viewers last night, losing 800,000 from Wednesday’s opener. Both episodes launched on BBC iPlayer on Wednesday morning so had been available for some time prior to linear launch.

One of the flagship shows of the BBC Christmas schedule, Murder is Easy was the sixth Christie adaptation over the past decade after a landmark deal with Agatha Christie Productions Limited, and the first not to be penned by Sarah Phelps, with Siân Ejiwunmi-Le Berre taking on writing duties.

Produced by Mammoth Screen, Murder is Easy followed Luke Fitzwilliam (Jonsson), a Nigerian attaché on his way to Whitehall when he meets...

Exclusive: Toby Jones is to play the solicitor who tried to save Ruth Ellis in ITV’s upcoming drama about the last woman to be hanged in Britain.

Vera producer Silverprint Pictures has rounded out cast on Ruth, with Laurie Davidson (Mary and George), Mark Stanley (Happy Valley), Joe Armstrong (Happy Valley), Arthur Darvill (Broadchurch), Juliet Stevenson and Toby Stephens (Die Another Day) also boarding.

Based on Carol Ann Lee’s biography A Fine Day For Hanging: The Real Ruth Ellis Story, the show sees Boynton star as Ellis, a nightclub hostess who was hanged at the age of 28 after fatally shooting her abusive lover, David Blakely. Famous hangman Albert Pierrepoint carried out the death sentence at Holloway Prison in 1955. Deadline revealed the project in June.

BAFTA-winner Jones, who is also starring as a detective in ITV’s George Kay-penned drama about the Yorkshire Ripper, will play Ellis’ solicitor John Bickford,...

Filming has begun and the cast has been revealed for Agatha Christie novel adaptation “Murder Is Easy.”

Based on Christie’s 1939 novel, the two-part thriller is adapted by Siân Ejiwunmi-Le Berre and directed by Meenu Gaur (“World on Fire”).

The cast includes David Jonsson, Morfydd Clark, Penelope Wilton (“Downton Abbey”), Sinead Matthews (“The Crown”), Tom Riley (“The Nevers”), Douglas Henshall (“Shetland”), Mathew Baynton (“Ghosts”), Mark Bonnar (“World on Fire”), Nimra Bucha (“Ms Marvel”), Tamzin Outhwaite (“The Tower”), Jon Pointing (“Big Boys”) and Phoebe Licorish in her screen debut.

The story is set in 1954 England. On a train to London, Fitzwilliam (Jonsson) meets Miss Pinkerton (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 accidents, but Miss Pinkerton knows otherwise — and when she’s later found dead on her way to Scotland Yard, Fitzwilliam...

Industry and Rye Lane star David Jonsson, Lord of the Rings lead Morfydd Clark and Downton Abbey‘s Penelope Wilton are among the cast of BBC and Britbox International’s latest Agatha Christie adaptation, Murder is Easy.

Filming is now underway in Scotland, with Jonsson playing lead character Fitzwilliam. On a train in 1954 England, he meets Miss Pinkerton (Wilton), who tells him a killer is on the loose in the sleepy village of Wychwood under Ashe. Though the locals believes the deaths are accidents, Miss Pinkerton knows better and is soon found dead on her way to Scotland Yard. Fitzwilliams is convinced he has to find the killer before they strike again.

Clark will play Bridget, Sinead Matthews (Hullraisers, The Crown) is Miss Waynflete, Tom Riley (The Nevers, Ill Behaviour) is Lord Whitfield, Douglas Henshall (Shetland, In Plain Sight) plays Major Horton, Mathew Baynton (Ghosts, Wonka) portrays Dr Thomas, Mark Bonnar (World on Fire,...

Exclusive: Bohemian Rhapsody star Lucy Boynton is to headline an ITV series about the last woman to hang in the UK.

Boynton will play Ruth Ellis, a nightclub hostess who was hanged at the age of 28 after fatally shooting her abusive lover David Blakely. Famous hangman Albert Pierrepoint carried out the death sentence at Holloway Prison in 1955.

The four-part series is made by ITV Studios-backed Vera producer Silverprint Pictures. It is written by Kelly Jones and based on Carol Ann Lee’s biography A Fine Day for Hanging: The Real Ruth Ellis Story.

Ruth is told over two parallel timelines, with one half of the story following Ellis’ entry into a dizzying upper-class London and her ultimate downfall. The other follows John Bickford, Ellis’ lawyer, as he unravels secret truths about the case that remained hidden for decades.

Kate Bartlett and Antonia Gordon are the Executive Producers for Silverprint.

Exclusive: Esteemed indie filmmaker Drake Doremus (Like Crazy) is making his first major move into television with the series One Day in December in development at Netflix, which has Lucy Boynton (Bohemian Rhapsody) attached to exec produce and star, according to multiple sources.

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Netflix declined to comment, and the show’s studio Fifth Season could not be reached. But the romantic drama series is based on the Josie Silver novel of the same name, which was a hotly pursued property after coming in as both #1 New York Times bestseller and a Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick, upon its 2018 publication by Random House.

The book tells the story of Laurie, who per the publisher,...

BritBox International has reached three million subscribers across its eight international markets, Variety can reveal.

The “best of British” streamer, which is backed internationally by BBC and ITV, has reached its latest milestone across the U.S., Canada, Australia, South Africa, Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland.

“Through what’s been a really challenging time for lots of SVODs, we’ve grown by 15% this year, which certainly exceeds that category growth for the U.S., and lots of our competitors in that set,” Reemah Sakaan, the London-based CEO of BritBox International, tells Variety.

BritBox last revealed subs of 2.6 million in March 2022, and prior to that, 2 million in July 2021 and 1 million in March 2020. In the last year, the service has launched in Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland, and struck new distribution partnerships with Amazon Prime Video and Apple channels across Australia.

The service’s most comparable rival in the U.S. is Acorn TV,...

Agatha Christie’s “Murder is Easy” is set to be adapted into a two-part film by BBC One, iPlayer and BritBox International.

Set in the sleepy English village of Wychwood under Ashe in 1954, “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 deaths that have taken place in her village – locals think they are all accidental but Miss Pinkerton knows the truth. 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.

ITV Studios-owned Mammoth Screen (“The Serpent”) and Agatha Christie Limited (“And Then There Were None”) will produce the feature, which is set to go into production this summer.

Sian Ejiwunmi-Le Berre...

The BBC has unveiled its first Agatha Christie adaptation in the post-Sarah Phelps era.

Playwright Sian Ejiwunmi-Le Berre is penning Murder is Easy for BBC One and BritBox International following a quintet of Phelps-written Christie reworks over the past decade: And Then There Were None, The Witness For The Prosecution, Ordeal By Innocence and The ABC Murders, which have starred the likes of John Malkovich.

Produced by ITV Studios-backed Mammoth Screen and Agatha Christie Limited and directed by Meenu Gaur (Zinda Bhaag, World on Fire), the two-parter follows a man who, on a train to London, meets a woman 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, Luke feels he must...

In a booth at the Four Seasons in Beverly Hills, Covid is on the table. As an interviewer, the topic can feel simultaneously intrusive and reductive to bring up, whether it’s the current state of the pandemic or those dark months of 2020, but it’s a subject that can’t be avoided, especially as actors are still promoting projects created under dire public-health conditions. “I don’t think we’ll ever be done with this topic,” says Lucy Boynton, gripping a mug of tea and sporting freshly dyed red hair. “I still feel the need to ask everyone I meet, like, ‘Are you Ok?’ I feel like I don’t even know how to compute all this time that has gone by.”

Boynton is in L.A. for the premiere of her new movie, Netflix’s The Pale Blue Eye, which was shot during 2021’s initial omicron surge. It...

BritBox International, the streamer run by the BBC and ITV, has hired former Hulu and CBS executive Robert Schildhouse.

Schildhouse joins as EVP, North America and Gm, Group Marketing Services. Based in New York, he reports to BritBox International CEO Reemah Sakaan.

His hire comes after the company restructured earlier this summer. The move saw it move to a two-region structure, which brought with it promotions for Moira Hogan and Neale Dennett, where it signaled its intention to hire a U.S-based Gm.

He will oversee the streaming service in the U.S. and Canada and lead its centralized global marketing team.

Schildhouse joined Hulu prior to its launch in 2008 and becoming leader of its content acquisition team. He then joined CBS Global Distribution Group, where he was EVP, Digital Licensing and Distribution and later EVP, Business Development.

BritBox is behind series such as Hugh Laurie’s Agatha Christie adaptation...

BritBox is hoping to carve out a niche for Anglo-centric programming in the U.S. and its boss has taken a particularly British swipe at rival streamers for their attempts.

Opening the streaming service’s virtual TCA panel, CEO Reemah Sakaan took aim.

“While other streamers have definitely discovered the quality and power of the British genre and in recent years, they’ve been originating some great British shows, they are accessories and not part of the core offering,” she said.

“The streamers are well intentioned. However, they definitely lack a little of what we would define as the essence of British, you might hear the accent see the settings and costumes, but in reality, they’re what we would call British-ish. At BritBox, there’s no extra -ish,” she added. “We were born in America, but we’re wholeheartedly British undeniably authentically and fanatically so. British is in our brand,...

BritBox International, the streamer run by the BBC and ITV, has restructured, talked up U.S. growth and communicated its desire to avoid “transatlantic puddings” to a room of some of the UK’s most successful drama producers.

The streamer, which is behind the likes of Hugh Laurie-starring Agatha Christie adaptation Why Didn’t They Ask Evans?, has hired NBCUniversal and Discovery alum Kerry Ball in the newly-created post of Chief Acquisitions & Commercial Officer, while moving to a two-region structure: Bbi North America (covering the U.S. and Canada) and Bbi International Markets.

Meanwhile, BritBox’s Moira Hogan has been promoted to EVP International Markets & General Manager Apac and Neale Dennett is upped to SVP International Markets & General Manager Emea. An EVP North America & General Manager Group Marketing Services will join soon.

Reporting to CEO Reemah Sakaan,...

“Why Didn’t They Ask Evans?” is a whip-smart British-set whodunnit, written and directed by Hugh Laurie, based on the iconic 1934 novel by Agatha Christie. If that is not catnip for Emmy voters, then I don’t know what is.

The three-part mystery premiered on upstart streaming service Britbox on April 14. It stars BAFTA Rising Star award winner Will Poulter as the local Vicar’s son, lovable Bobby Jones and Lucy Boynton as his friend, razor-sharp socialite Lady Frances “Frankie” Derwent. Unbeknownst to them while looking for a lost golf ball on a perfectly pleasant Wales gold course, the duo come upon the crumpled body of a dying man who utters the enigmatic query of the show’s title with his last dying breath. The show’s official synopsis then goes on to read, “armed with a photograph of a young woman found in the dead man’s pocket, amateur sleuths...

U.S. audiences will be able to stream the BAFTA Film Awards as live for the first ever time in two weeks on BritBox.

The 75th ceremony will stream from London’s Royal Albert Hall on the SVoD in the U.S., Canada and South Africa on Sunday March 13, with the BBC airing in the UK.

U.S. audiences have never been able to stream the Oscar precursor awards at the same time as the UK before, although BritBox has been showing BAFTA LA’s Britannia Awards for three years.

BBC America used to show the BAFTA Film Awards.

“Being the home to the largest collection of British entertainment, we only thought it natural to bring the biggest awards show to our BritBox viewers,” said Emily Powers, Head of BritBox North America.

Rebel Wilson is hosting this year’s BAFTAs, which will see Belfast, Don’t Look Up, Licorice Pizza, Dune...

Streamer BritBox has extended its production partnership with the Agatha Christie estate.

BritBox, which is jointly owned by BBC Studios and ITV, has signed on for three more productions with Agatha Christie Limited and Mamoth Screen.

The trio have already collaborated on an adaptation of Christie’s novel “Why Didn’t They Ask Evans?” (pictured above) starring Emma Thompson and Will Poulter, which will premiere on the platform in April.

BritBox have not yet confirmed which of the author’s prolific output they will be working on next but they have said each of the three adaptations will be “steered by a distinctive voice – a director, a writer or auteur – bringing an entirely new perspective and style to Agatha Christie’s novels.”

BritBox was set to make the announcement Wednesday during its portion of the Television Critics Association winter virtual press tour. As part of the announcement, Emily Powers, head of BritBox North America,...

BritBox North America has struck a deal for three Agatha Christie adaptations and is to double its creative and investment output.

Head Emily Powers unveiled the news at this morning’s TCAs, at which point she revealed BritBox is co-producer on ITV’s The Confessions of Frannie Langton and has acquired the same network’s The Thief, His Wife and The Canoe and BBC One’s Martin Freeman-starring The Responder, both of which will be badged BritBox Originals. The BBC Studios/ITV streamer has also ordered a second season of Father Brown spin-off Sister Boniface Mysteries.

The Agatha Christie deal has been struck with Agatha Christie Limited and ITV Studios-backed The Serpent producer Mammoth Screen, and will see the trio of as-yet-unannounced shows produced over the coming years. Endeavor Content will handle international sales outside of the UK, Ireland and the Americas for all three projects.

The adaptations...

Mark Ruffalo and Hugh Laurie are set as leads opposite Aria Mia Loberti in Netflix’s All The Light We Cannot See, a four-part limited series adaptation of Anthony Doerr’s Pulitzer Prize-winning bestseller, from Shawn Levy and Steven Knight.

Newcomer Loberti, who is blind, plays Marie-Laure, the blind teenager at the heart of the story, whose path collides with Werner, a German soldier, as they both try to survive the devastation of World War II in occupied France.

Ruffalo will play Daniel LeBlanc, the principal locksmith at the Museum of Natural History in Paris. Caring and clever, he’s determined to give his blind daughter Marie as much independence as he can while also protecting her – and the secret gem they carry – from Nazi occupation.

Laurie will portray Etienne LeBlanc, an eccentric and reclusive World War I hero suffering from Ptsd. Etienne is a nervous shut-in who records clandestine...

Catherine Zeta-Jones has bagged the role of Morticia Addams in Netflix’s forthcoming live-action Addams Family series ‘Wednesday.’

Zeta-Jones joins Jenna Ortega, who is set to portray the titular role of Wednesday Addams and the recently cast Luis Guzman who takes on the role of Morticia’s husband, Gomez Addams.

Tim Burton will direct the series which is described as a sleuthing, supernaturally infused mystery charting Wednesday Addams’ years as a student at Nevermore Academy. She attempts to master her emerging psychic ability, thwart a monstrous killing spree that has terrorized the local town, and solve the supernatural mystery that embroiled her parents 25 years ago — all while navigating her new and very tangled relationships at Nevermore.

Also in news – Emma Thompson & Jim Broadbent join Agatha Christie’s ‘Why Didn’t They Ask Evans?’

The young adult TV series is created by Al Gough and Miles Millar who will also serve as...

British acting duo Emma Thompson and Jim Broadbent have signed up to star in the 3-part Agatha Christie adaptation ‘Why Didn’t They Ask Evans?.’

Thompson and Broadbent, who will play British aristocrats Lord and Lady Marcham, will join Lucy Boynton who takes on the role of their daughter Lady Frankie, Will Poulter as Bobby Jones and Hugh Laurie and as creepy sanitorium director Dr. James Nicholson.

Based on Christie’s 1934 mystery, the story centres on the local Vicar’s son, Bobby Jones (Poulter), and his whip-smart friend, socialite Lady Frances ‘Frankie’ Derwent (Boynton) on their crime-solving adventure after they discover the crumpled body of a dying man who, with his last breath, gasps the cryptic question of the title.

Also in news – Brendan Fraser joins cast of Martin Scorsese’s ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’

Armed only with a photograph of a beautiful young woman found in the dead man’s pocket,...

Exclusive: Lucy Boynton is set to play Marie Antoinette Searchlight’s biopic Chevalier de Saint-Georges, starring Kelvin Harrison Jr. in title role. Searchlight landed the original feature pitch from Stefani Robinson last summer with Watchmen director Stephen Williams on board to direct. Samara Weaving also recently joined the cast.

Born in 1745 in the French Caribbean, de Saint-Georges was the illegitimate son of an African slave and a French plantation owner. He rose to improbable heights in French society, dazzling as both a violinist and composer and a champion fencer. An ill-fated love affair with a French noblewoman and a falling out with Marie Antoinette and her court led to his untimely downfall.

Element Pictures, Robinson and Dianne McGunigle will produce. The project is being overseen by SVP Production DanTram Nguyen, Director of Production Zahra Phillips and creative exec Cornelia Burleigh.

Boynton, best known for her breakout role opposite Rami Malek in Bohemian Rhapsody,...