A New Whodunit Starring Lesley Manville Is Coming to Masterpiece PBS
Anthony Horowitz’s The Magpie Murders is heading to the small screen. Masterpiece PBS confirmed the long-running anthology series will be adapting the bestselling mystery novel, which follows an editor, Susan Ryeland, who's drawn into a web of intrigue and danger after being handed an unfinished manuscript. Here's what we know so far:
You can watch the first Magpie Murders trailer now.
Masterpiece PBS released the first footage from the new adaptation in July, highlighting Lesley Manville in the starring role of Susan. In the footage, Susan is frustrated to discover that the juicy manuscript she's been reading is missing its last chapter—it's "a whodunit without the ending." But as you might have guessed, this is only the beginning of her entanglement with this mysterious text.
In an interview with What To Watch, Manville enthused about playing the "fabulous" character of Susan. "She’s an Independent, spirited woman who lives by her own rules... I really like her as a person, as she's not done what most people would have expected her to."
Magpie Murders will premiere in October.
In the States, the six-part miniseries will air on Masterpiece PBS, beginning on Sunday, October 16 at 9 p.m. eastern.
In the UK, the miniseries was released on February 10, 2022, on the streaming service BritBox.
In addition to Manville, the cast of Magpie Murders includes Tim McMullan, Daniel Mays, Pippa Haywood, Michael Maloney, and Conleth Hill.
Horowitz is adapting his own book for TV.
For any fans concerned about how the story will translate to the small screen, know that the script in the very best hands. “Magpie Murders is my most successful novel and it wasn’t easy to adapt. But I think the result is a completely original drama that will delight and beguile audiences in equal measure,” Horowitz has said.
Masterpiece will co-produce the show.
The PBS series will be working alongside producers Jill Green and Eleventh Hour Films. “Anthony Horowitz is a master mystery writer, and Magpie Murders is a beautiful and complex work,” said Masterpiece executive producer Susanne Simpson in a statement, per Deadline. “Our Masterpiece audience will truly enjoy this intriguing story of a mystery within a mystery.”
This is one of the first co-productions from Masterpiece, an endeavor Simpson previewed at the end of the last year.
"We've done development deals with some of our favorite U.K. producers, and we're looking now to work with distributors to find a way to finance those programs and to make them happen," Simpson told T&C at the time.
"We feel it's the way to make sure that we're getting the kind of programs we like for our audience. We're going to be able to continue to curate the series, get the best shows for the series, co-produce with people we love working with, and then also develop programs with them as well."
You Might Also Like
