Television series
Agatha Christie's Tommy & Tuppence
A frothy, fizzy period mystery built on the oldest trick in the Christie playbook: put two attractive people who are hopelessly in love and terrible at admitting it into the middle of a murder. Antonia Thomas and Josh Dylan bicker, flirt and stumble over bodies with Imelda Staunton hovering as moral ballast. It's comfort viewing — gentle stakes, gorgeous frocks, a will-they-won't-they simmering under every clue.
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Agatha Christie Poirot1989
David Suchet's definitive Poirot remains the gold standard for Christie on screen — meticulous plotting, gorgeous period detail, and a detective so precise he makes chaos look like etiquette.
But Thirteen series is a lot of commitment, and the earliest episodes look distinctly like 1989 television.
Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries2012
A dazzling, deeply stylish Australian period mystery with a heroine who solves crimes in couture and never once apologises for enjoying herself. Same interwar sparkle, more swagger.
But It's unapologetically glossy and occasionally silly — if you want grit, this isn't it.
Death on the Nile2022
Branagh's lavish, star-stuffed Christie adaptation gives you the sun-drenched glamour and ensemble sniping this show trades in, just condensed into two cinematic hours.
But The all-star cast sometimes overwhelms the mystery, and Branagh's moustache has opinions of its own.
The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
The Thin Man1934
It's the direct ancestor of the bickering-married-detectives template — same structural engine, ninety years earlier and twice as fast.
Nick and Nora Charles invented this whole genre decades before Christie's sleuths caught up: a married couple trading wisecracks over cocktails while stumbling into murder, utterly delighted with each other and themselves.
But Black-and-white 1930s screwball pacing and slang will feel alien if you've never watched anything pre-war.
More like this (7)
And Then There Were None2015no page yet
BBC's superb, chilling miniseries proves Christie could do menace as well as banter — a good reminder her puzzles have real teeth underneath the charm.
But Genuinely bleak and claustrophobic; not the comfort watch T&T is.
Hart to Hart1979
A rich, glamorous married couple who solve murders between martinis — pure genre ancestor territory, all wit and matching outfits and zero pretension.
But It's very 1980s American television: broad, cheesy, and the mysteries are secondary to the chemistry.
Grantchester2014
A cosy, character-driven English mystery with a detective duo built on real affection and moral friction rather than pure plotting — same warm-blanket feeling.
But Leans more on emotional drama than whodunit mechanics, which might frustrate puzzle purists.
Foyle's War2002
Gentle, intelligent wartime mysteries with a real sense of England under pressure — a slower, more thoughtful cousin to T&T's interwar setting.
But It's measured and unhurried; anyone wanting quick thrills will find it stately.
Moonlighting1985
The American blueprint for bantering will-they-won't-they detectives — rapid-fire dialogue, genuine heat, and cases that are really just excuses for the two leads to spar.
But Wildly uneven tonally and the production troubles show; some episodes sing, others sag.
The ABC Murders2018no page yet
A darker, more psychological Christie adaptation with John Malkovich reinventing Poirot as weary and haunted — good if you want to see the source material taken seriously.
But Its grim revisionism annoyed purists, and it's a real tonal U-turn from the show's lightness.
Agatha Christie: Lucy Worsley on the Mystery Queen2022no page yet
Christie wrote marital rupture and reconciliation into nearly all her detective duos because she'd lived it; this documentary shows you where that ache actually came from.
A serious, sympathetic documentary look at Christie's own vanishing act and collapsing marriage — the real unravelling romance behind all her fictional ones, including Tommy and Tuppence's.
But It's straight nonfiction with none of the show's playfulness — a sober companion piece, not an evening's entertainment on its own.
People
Cast
Production
- James PrichardExecutive Producer
- Jon FarrarExecutive Producer
- Juliette HowellExecutive Producer
- Katie DraperExecutive Producer
- Laura LankesterExecutive Producer
- Louise MutterExecutive Producer
- Phoebe Eclair-PowellExecutive Producer
- Robert SchildhouseExecutive Producer
- Stephen NyeExecutive Producer
- Stella MerzProducer