Murder Is Easy (TV series)

2023 British television drama

Murder Is Easy

Genre|

* Mystery
* Drama
* Thriller

Based on| Murder Is Easy
by Agatha Christie
Written by| Siân Ejiwunmi-Le Berre
Directed by| Meenu Gaur
Starring|

* David Jonsson
* Penelope Wilton
* Morfydd Clark

Music by| Segun Akinola[1]
Country of origin| United Kingdom
Original language| English
No. of episodes| 2
Production
Executive producers|

* Sian Ejiwunmi-Le Berre
* James Prichard
* James Gandhi
* Damien Timmer
* Danielle Scott-Haughton
* Reemah Sakaan
* Stephen Nye

Producer| Karen Kelly
Production companies|

* Agatha Christie Limited
* Mammoth Screen

Original release
Network|

* BBC One
* BritBox International

Release| 27 December (2023-12-27) –
28 December 2023 (2023-12-28)

Murder Is Easy is a British mystery thriller television serial. It is based on the 1939 Agatha Christie novel of the same name. It is adapted by Siân Ejiwunmi-Le Berre and directed by Meenu Gaur. It premiered on BBC One and BBC iPlayer on 27 December 2023.

## Premise

[edit]

In 1954, Luke Obiako Fitzwilliam (Jonsson) is a Nigerian attaché on his way to Whitehall when he meets the mysterious Miss Lavinia Pinkerton (Wilton) on a train to London. Pinkerton discusses with him about a series of deaths in the village of Wychwood-Under-Ashe which are not accidental and there's a killer on the loose. Later, Miss Pinkerton is killed in a hit-and-run, and Fitzwilliam steels himself to discover the murderer.[2][3]

## Cast

[edit]

* David Jonsson as Luke Obiako Fitzwilliam
* Morfydd Clark as Bridget Conway
* Penelope Wilton as Miss Lavinia Pinkerton
* Sinead Matthews as Miss Honoria Waynflete
* Tom Riley as Lord Whitfield
* Douglas Henshall as Major Horton
* Mathew Baynton as Dr Thomas
* Mark Bonnar as Reverend Arthur Humbleby
* Nimra Bucha as Mrs Humbleby
* Tamzin Outhwaite as Mrs Pierce
* Jon Pointing as Rivers
* Phoebe Licorish as Rose Humbleby
* Joe Fagan as the Butler

## Episodes

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No.| Episode| Directed by| Written by| Original release date| UK viewers
(millions)

|
|
|
|
|

1| Episode 1[4]| Meenu Gaur| Siân Ejiwunmi-Le Berre| 27 December 2023 (2023-12-27)| 6.82
2| Episode 2[5]| Meenu Gaur| Siân Ejiwunmi-Le Berre| 28 December 2023 (2023-12-28)| 5.68

## Production

[edit]

Produced by Mammoth Screen and Agatha Christie Limited, it was a co-commission between the BBC and BritBox International. The Agatha Christie novel of the same name is adapted by Siân Ejiwunmi-Le Berre and directed by Meenu Gaur. It was produced by Karen Kelly. Executive producers are 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.[6]

### Locations

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Murder Is Easy was filmed on location in Scotland in the summer of 2023 on the two-part drama series.[7][8] First-look images from the production were released in November 2023.[9]

Filming took place in Tyninghame (and especially the village hall and the Tyninghame Smithy cafe), Preston Mill in East Linton, Stirlingshire, Forbes Place in Paisley, Sorn Castle in Ayrshire, and Birkhill Station on the Bo’ness and Kinneil Railway.[10][11][12]

Waterloo Station in London can be seen briefly as the train carrying Miss Lavinia Pinkerton and Luke Fitzwilliam approaches and enters Waterloo Station.[13]

* Birkhill Station

* Tyninghame Smithy cafe

* Tyninghame village hall

* Preston Mill

* Sorn Castle

## Broadcast

[edit]

The show aired on BBC One and BBC iPlayer in the UK on 27 December 2023 and will be[when?] broadcast on BritBox International in the US, Canada and South Africa.[14][15]

## Reception

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Rebecca Nicholson in The Guardian awarded it three out of five stars, praising its promising reworkings but finding the second episode unfocused, and that it "both overexplains and underexplains what is going on".[16] Nick Hilton in The Independent awarded it two out of five stars.[17]

## References

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1. ^ "Segun Akinola Scoring BBC's 'Murder Is Easy'". filmmusicreporter.com. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
2. ^ Chase, Stephanie (21 February 2023). "BBC announces new Agatha Christie murder mystery adaptation". Digital Spy. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
3. ^ "Agatha Christie "Would Have Approved Of Young Black Hero In Latest BBC Adaptation"". Deadline. 17 December 2023.
4. ^ "Murder Is Easy - Episode 1". BBC One. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
5. ^ "Murder Is Easy - Episode 2". BBC One. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
6. ^ Yossman, K.J.; Ramachandran, Naman (10 July 2023). "'Lord of the Rings' Actor Morfydd Clark to Star in Agatha Christie Adaptation 'Murder Is Easy' for BBC, BritBox". Variety. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
7. ^ Whittock, Jesse (10 July 2023). "'Murder Is Easy': David Jonsson, Morfydd Clark & Penelope Wilton Among Cast Of Agatha Christie Adaptation For BBC & BritBox International". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
8. ^ Abbatescianni, Davide (11 July 2023). "Filming begins in Scotland on Meenu Gaur's two-part thriller Murder Is Easy". Cineuropa.org. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
9. ^ Craig, David (2 November 2023). "First look at Agatha Christie's Murder Is Easy with Shetland, Ghosts stars". Radio Times. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
10. ^ Murder is Easy Filming Locations: Agatha Christie in Scotland by Jane, Findthatlocation.com, 27 December 2023, retrieved 5 April 2024
11. ^ TV crews spotted in tiny East Lothian village with area transformed back to the 1950s by Steven Brown, Edinburgh Live, 19 July 2023, retrieved 6 April 2024
12. ^ Tyninghame transformed for filming of new Agatha Christie TV special by Gregor Millar, East Lothian Courier, 25 July 2023, retrieved 6 April 2024
13. ^ Murder is easy - Agatha Christie TV programme & Waterloo Station, RailUKforums, 1 Jan 2024, retrieved 7 April 2024
14. ^ Griffiths, Emmy (2 November 2023). "Downton Abbey actress set to star in BBC's new Agatha Christie adaptation Murder is Easy – and we can't wait". Hello. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
15. ^ "UK TV Ratings: BBC's Latest Agatha Christie Adaptation Neck-And-Neck With ITV's 'Why Didn't They Ask Evans?' From Easter Weekend". Deadline. 29 December 2023.
16. ^ Nicholson, Rebecca (27 December 2023). "Murder Is Easy review – shines a whole new light on this Agatha Christie classic". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 January 2024.
17. ^ Hilton, Nick (27 December 2023). "Murder Is Easy review: BBC's Christmas Agatha Christie adaptation is bland and incoherent". The Independent. Retrieved 8 January 2024.

## External links

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Murder Is Easy (TV series).

* Murder Is Easy at IMDb

*[No.]: Number