We're not exactly sure when PBS updated its website with an announcement of the series expected to air next summer on Masterpiece: Mystery!, but there it is. We knew of three of the series mentioned, but the fourth was a pleasant surprise.
Agatha Christie's Miss Marple returns with a new lead for the series, Julia McKenzie. We first reported on McKenzie landing the role of Miss Marple in February 2008 and later with an update on series production in August. The first mystery featuring McKenzie as Miss Marple is A Pocketful of Rye. The others are Murder Is Easy, Why Didn't They Ask Evans?, and They Do It With Mirrors. No air dates have been set. Collections of Miss Marple mysteries on DVD are available from Mysteries on TV: Miss Marple.
David Suchet returns as Hercule Poirot in the long running series also based a series of mysteries by Agatha Christie. In September we reported that Suchet had completed four more episodes and had agreed to an additional four, though at the time we were unaware of the titles. We now believe the episodes currently airing on ITV will be the ones to air next summer on PBS: Mrs. McGinty's Dead, Cat Among the Pigeons, Third Girl, and Appointment with Death. Collections of Poirot mysteries on DVD are available from Mysteries on TV: Hercule Poirot.
Also returning is the second series of Inspector Lewis with four new episodes. Inspector Lewis is a spin-off from the long-running Inspector Morse mysteries, and aired its second series earlier this year on ITV. The first series, including the pilot episode, is available on DVD from Mysteries on TV: Inspector Lewis.
Finally, and this is new news to us, Wallander is coming to Masterpiece: Mystery! Wallander stars Kenneth Branagh as detective Kurt Wallander and is based on the mystery series by Swedish author Henning Mankell. Branagh, a longtime fan of the novels, is a co-producing partner of the adaptations being filmed in rarely seen locations in southern Sweden. The BBC issued a press release about the series in January, 2008, which we obviously missed at the time.
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I love Mystery. I knew about the first two and am excited about them. I'm glad Lewis will be back. I don't know anything about the fourth one.
ReplyDeleteNow, the Mystery website gives dates. There appears to be four new Miss Marple episodes. There are, however, only two air dates for new Poirot episodes. I am guessing that PBS will air the four existing Poirot episodes over two years.
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