(L to R) Helena Bonham Carter and Martin Freeman wil star in ‘The Seven Dials Mystery’. Photo: Netflix.
Preview:
- Helena Bonham Carter, Martin Freeman and Mia McKenna-Bruce will star in ‘The Seven Dials Mystery’.
- ‘Broadchurch’ and ‘Doctor Who’ writer Chris Chibnall adapted the series.
- Netflix is backing the show.
The murder mystery genre is one of those evergreen sources for movies and TV, and Agatha Christie is one of the major players in that field (despite, you know being dead since 1976). Her work is consistently adapted –– probably most famously currently for the Poirot movies starring and directed by Kenneth Branagh.
But TV has usually been seen as the natural home for work based on the writer’s iconic books, and Netflix is looking to get in on that action with a new show based on ‘The Seven Dials Mystery’, which will star Helena Bonham Carter, Martin Freeman (already well versed in the mystery genre thanks to ‘Sherlock’) and up-and-coming young star Mia McKenna-Bruce, who got a big break with last year’s movie drama ‘How to Have Sex’.
“A tale of international intrigue romance and murder”
What’s the story of ‘The Seven Dials Mystery’?
Mia McKenna-Bruce in ‘The Seven Dials Mystery’. Photo: Netflix.
First published in 1929, Christie’s tome is set in England in 1925. At a lavish country house party, a practical joke appears to have gone horribly, murderously wrong.
It will be up to the unlikeliest of sleuths –– the fizzingly inquisitive Lady Eileen ‘Bundle’ Brent (Bruce) –– to unravel a chilling plot that will change her life, cracking wide open the country house mystery.
Carter is playing Lady Caterham and Freeman will be a police officer named Battle.
Who is making ‘The Seven Dials Mystery’?
Jamie Dornan in HBO Max’s ‘The Tourist.’
The new series comes from Chris Chibnall, who previously created and wrote crime drama series ‘Broadchurch’ before moving on to run ‘Doctor Who’ for a few years.
And producing is Suzanne Mackie, who worked at Left Bank Pictures on ‘The Crown’ and formed her own production company, Orchid Pictures in 2020.
Chris Sweeney (‘The Tourist‘) is aboard to direct the series.
Related Article: Actor Jamie Dornan Talks HBO Max’s ‘The Tourist’
‘The Seven Dials Mystery’: The Cast and Creators Talk
Mia McKenna-Bruce wil star in ‘The Seven Dials Mystery’. Photo: Netflix.
Here’s what Mia McKenna-Bruce said about the show:
“Chris Chibnall’s scripts are brilliant, and I am thrilled to be part of this new interpretation of the iconic Agatha Christie’s storytelling.”
And here’s producer Mackie commenting:
“I am excited to be bringing ‘The Seven Dials Mystery’ to life, and to be introducing a new generation of iconic Christie characters to the screen. It has been a joy to work with Chris Chibnall in creating this bold, authored, and ambitious vision for the series. Together with Chris Sussman and Agatha Christie Limited and, under the masterful direction of Chris Sweeney, we are thrilled to embark on this creative journey. I could not think of a more exciting first project for Orchid Pictures, or a more perfect home for this story than Netflix.”
When will ‘The Seven Dials Mystery’ be on Netflix?
The series is now shooting, so the streaming service has yet to reveal a release date.
Martin Freeman as Jonathan Miller in the Psychological Thriller film, ‘Miller’s Girl,’ a Lionsgate release. Photo courtesy of Lionsgate.