Agatha Christie's Murder Mysteries Officially Enter A New Era Next Month

Published Aug 30, 2026, 8:30 AM EDT El is a Junior TV Features Editor for ScreenRant, with previous experience as The Mary Sue's UK and Weekend Editor. She holds a Bachelor's in International Media and Entertainment Management, as well as an MA and Ph.D. in Creative Writing. There is little she loves more than discussing her favorite TV shows with fellow fans. One day, she hopes to publish an original fantasy novel. Agatha Christie's murder mystery adaptations will officially enter a new era next month. Agatha Christie is one of the best-selling authors of all time for a reason. The so-called Queen of Crime invented countless tropes and character archetypes that remain relevant in detective fiction today. Scriptwriters and producers return to her work time and again; each new adaptation of her books and short stories offers something new, as actors and writers reinterpret her mysteries through a modern lens. And yet, most mainstream English-language Christie adaptations are set in the period in which the author wrote them. She was, of course, a contemporary writer herself, with each of her mysteries directly influenced by the political and social issues relevant to British life between the 1920s and '70s. Her characters, however, are undeniably universal. That's what makes them so likable, even now. There's no reason Hercule Poirot, Miss Marple, or Bundle Brent couldn't find their calling in the 21st century. The BBC's Sherlock successfully translated Arthur Conan Doyle's iconic Victorian adventures to present-day London, after all, and it went on to become one of the most globally beloved British shows of all time. Georges Simenon's mid-20th-century Parisian detective, Jules Maigret, was recently brought into the 21st century for the first time on PBS, with a second season premiering in October this year. Now, it's finally Agatha Christie's turn to step into the modern age, as her underrated detective duo makes its long-overdue return to the small screen in BritBox's upcoming series, Tommy & Tuppence. BritBox's Tommy & Tuppence Is TV's First English 21st-Century Christie Adaptation Credit: Nick Wall/Courtesy of BritBox BritBox's Tommy & Tuppence is the first-ever contemporary English-language Agatha Christie television adaptation. Starring Josh Dylan as Tommy and Antonia Thomas as Tuppence, with a supporting role from the one and only Imelda Staunton as Tommy's experienced investigator aunt, Ada, the show will chronicle the pair's romantic and professional relationship as they pursue a very new career path: detective work. Tommy, a bestselling crime novelist struggling with writer's block, and Tuppence, a somewhat famous Hollywood actress who's recently returned to London, are reunited at a wedding when they stumble on their first murder case. They might be exes, but there's still a spark, one that Christie captured beautifully in her original Tommy and Tuppence-centric stories. The 21st-century duo will tackle three cases in Tommy & Tuppence's first six-episode season, adapted from Christie's novels and short stories. What's so compelling about Tommy and Tuppence as a pair, even more so than their casework — in their debut novel, 1922's The Secret Adversary, the old friends finally get engaged after surviving a harrowing post-World War I-era spy adventure together — is that they essentially grew up alongside Christie. They weren't static characters; in each new book and short story, Tommy and Tuppence experience a new phase of life until their final novel, 1973's Postern of Fate, when the couple comes out of retirement for one last investigation. Their romance is central to their work as a team and how they solve their cases. It's what sets them apart from other famous detective duos who originated in the 19th and 20th centuries, like Sherlock and Watson. Of course, there are now multiple romantically entangled detective duos in fiction, especially on TV, including The X-Files' Mulder and Scully, Bones' Booth and Brennan, The Mentalist's Lisbon and Jane, and so on. Tommy and Tuppence were arguably the blueprint for these relationships, though, and it's great to see them step into the spotlight once again, embracing a new era. Given the increasing prevalence of romance novel adaptations on streaming and the enduring popularity of the murder mystery genre, BritBox's Tommy & Tuppence is a match made in heaven, a perfect entry point for new viewers to experience Christie's crime-writing brilliance while offering longtime fans a wholly new narrative experience. Tommy and Tuppence's infectious, high-energy personalities and flirty dynamic are the perfect pick for the first-ever contemporary Christie adaptation, and hopefully, there will be many more to come. Tommy & Tuppence Could Start A New Wave Of Modern Agatha Christie Adaptations Credit: Lara Cornell/Courtesy of BritBox Christie adaptations in recent years have been dominated by Kenneth Branagh's big-screen Hercule Poirot adventures and three- or four-episode miniseries, including ITV's Why Didn't They Ask Evans? in 2022, the BBC's Murder Is Easy in 2023, Agatha Christie's Towards Zero on the BBC in 2024, and Netflix's Agatha Christie's Seven Dials earlier this year. All have their merits, of course, but they were all historical crime dramas, relatively faithful to the period and the stories they originated from. It's time for a new trend. Tommy & Tuppence could easily return for multiple seasons, given the characters reappeared repeatedly in Christie's novels — perhaps future seasons could also see the couple investigating crimes at different points in their lives, as the author originally intended? If BritBox's show does well enough, however, it could also spark a new wave of modern Christie adaptations, much like Sherlock did for Arthur Conan Doyle's stories and characters after its wildly successful 2010 premiere. Christie has more characters to choose from, though, meaning the possibilities are quite literally endless. Which Other Agatha Christie Stories Deserve An Updated Adaptation? Credit: Nick Wall/Courtesy of BritBox Of course, Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple are the obvious contenders for a Tommy & Tuppence-like modern adaptation. They're her biggest characters and always draw an audience, and it would be undeniably fun to see them in a brand-new environment. Imagine a gentlemanly, 21st-century Hercule Poirot solving a case at one of Britain's manor estates, now used as a tourist destination? Imagine a retired Miss Marple running rings around the police, despite their modern forensic technology? Still, there are plenty of other one-off Christie characters who could be fun to translate into the 21st century. The Man in the Brown Suit's Anne Beddingfeld is an adventure-seeker who witnesses a man being electrocuted at a London tube station. When the police rule his death as accidental, Anne takes it upon herself to travel halfway around the world to discover the truth. She'd be a perfect modern-day heroine, and it would be fun to see one of Christie's lesser-known stories brought to life again. Tommy and Tuppence were last seen on-screen in the BBC's 2015 miniseries, Partners in Crime. Passenger to Frankfurt, one of only a handful of Christie stories never adapted for the screen, is a high-stakes spy novel that starts at an airport. With a few narrative tweaks, it could be turned into a prestigious modern political thriller. The Sittaford Mystery (or The Murder at Hazelmoor) is a rich, atmospheric, gothic mystery set in the wilds of Dartmoor, featuring another one of Christie's compelling amateur female sleuths, Emily Trefusis. During her career, Agatha Christie wrote dozens of books (66 of which were crime novels) and well over 100 short stories. There's clearly no shortage of source material to choose from. The only question now is: after Tommy & Tuppence, which of the Queen of Crime's cases will become a modern-day adventure next? Tommy & Tuppence premieres Tuesday, September 15 on BritBox, with new episodes arriving weekly. Release Date September 15, 2026 Cast Fola Evans-Akingbola Tatiana Alara-Star Khan Hetty Copleigh