‘Murder is Easy’ trailer: BBC’s new Agatha Christie mystery confirms air date

The BBC has announced when its new Agatha Christie adaptation begins!

Murder is Easy is produced by the makers of Endeavour, and based on the iconic author’s 1939 novel of the same name.

Set in 1954, the two-part mystery drama was filmed in Scotland this summer.

Leading the cast are Downton Abbey star Penelope Wilton, best known as Isobel Crawley in ITV’s hit period drama, and David Jonsson from this year’s acclaimed London rom-com Rye Lane.

They’re joined by Douglas Henshall (Shetland), Mathew Baynton (Ghosts), Mark Bonnar (Guilt), Morfydd Clark (Lord of the Rings), Sinead Matthews (The Crown), Tom Riley (The Nevers), Nimra Bucha (Polite Society), Tamzin Outhwaite (Ridley Road), and Jon Pointing (Plebs), alongside newcomer Phoebe Licorish.

“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 official synopsis reveals.

“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…”

Watch the trailer here:

“Christie, writing in the thirties, must have revelled in the screwball romances of Colbert and Gable, Grant and Hepburn, where women were at least as whip smart as their leading men,” commented screenwriter Siân Ejiwunmi-Le Berre.

“A clear two hander that’s as much a romcom as a murder mystery, Murder is Easy balances deduction with seduction, humour with terror like a Hitchcock movie,” she said.

“I have a feeling she was experimenting, trying something different, and if we’ve done the same, I can only put my hands up and say we had licence to do so, from the Queen of Crime herself,” added the writer.

When’s the release date?

Murder is Easy will premiere in the UK at 9pm on Wednesday 27 December on BBC One, and streaming on BBC iPlayer, with the second episode airing on Thursday 28 December.

The mini-series will debut in the US, Canada and South Africa on BritBox in 2024.

BritBox are developing several new Agatha Christie adaptations following the success of Why Didn’t They Ask Evans? last year.

Agatha Christie’s novel Murder is Easy is available on Amazon.