Acorn TV nabs exclusive for final 'Poirot' capers

It's no mystery that streaming TV is gaining favor with viewers and content creators alike.

The latest Net content coup? The final trio of episodes of Agatha Christie's Poirot.

The series, which began airing in the U.K. in 1989, has appeared on PBS over the years. And PBS will get two of the five TV movies in the 13th series of the show, with The Big Four and Dead Man's Folly airing on Masterpiece Mystery! on consecutive Sundays, July 27 and August 3.

But the final three movies or episodes will premiere only on Acorn TV, viewable on www.Acorn.TV and on Roku, where Acorn TV has a channel. Elephants Can Remember hits the service on Aug. 11, then Labours of Hercules on Aug. 18 and Curtain: Poirot's Last Case on Aug. 25.

The folks at Acorn TV have used their little grey cells in this manner before, last year premiering episodes of series Doc Martin, Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries and Jack Irish. Acorn will make the final Poirot episodes available to individual public TV stations in November.

At that point, Acorn TV will continue to offer the five episodes from this season as well as more than 60 previous episodes from past seasons. RLJ Entertainment, which has exclusive distribution rights in North America for many critically-acclaimed British programs and also manages the literary estate of Agatha Christie, owns and operates Acorn TV and Acorn's home video division.

"We are thrilled to exclusively offer the final episodes of one of the most iconic series in television history to Acorn TV subscribers," said RLJ Entertainment CEO Miguel Penella in a statement. "For the last quarter of a century, David Suchet has made an indelible mark on television with his portrayal of Poirot, and these final episodes feature a fitting goodbye to a beloved series."

Launched in July 2011, Acorn TV costs $4.99 monthly or $49.99 annually after a free 30-day trial. In addition to viewing on Roku devices, you can watch the service on various tablets and devices through a web browser, too. For more information see Acorn TV's FAQ.