EXCLUSIVE: Viacom’s Channel 5 has hunted down two more Agatha Christie dramas following the success of last year’s Agatha and the Truth of Murder.
The British broadcaster has commissioned Agatha and the Curse of Ishtar (w/t) and Agatha and the Death of X (w/t) from Endemol Shine’s Darlow Smithson Productions (DSP). The two feature-length crime dramas are part of the network’s ramping up in the scripted genre over the last twelve months.
Agatha and the Curse of Ishtar, which will air later this year, sees author Agatha Christie travel to the deserts of Iraq in the late 1920s for an archaeological dig where she unravels a series of mysterious murders. Agatha and the Death of X is set in the Blitz in 1940s London, as the author decides she must kill off her most famous creation, and in doing so, becomes a target herself.
Tom Dalton (The Pharmacist) has written both dramas while rising director Sam Yates will helm Agatha and the Curse of Ishtar. Carol Harding produces. The two films are created by Tom and Emily Dalton.
This comes after Agatha and the Truth of Murder, which starred Ruth Bradley, Pippa Haywood and Blake Harrison, became Channel 5’s biggest show last Christmas and was its second highest rated fictional series of the year. Kew Media Distribution has already sold it in more than 139 territories and has international rights to the two new films.
Emily Dalton, Joint Managing Director of DSP said, “With Agatha and the Truth of Murder we worked very hard to produce a classic murder mystery that was fun and unexpected. Having the opportunity to expand this world in two further films is a real privilege.”
Channel 5’s Sebastian Cardwell added, “We’re delighted to commission two new murder mysteries after the success of Agatha and The Truth of Murder, which was a Christmas treat for our viewers in 2018.”
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