Five series to remember Agatha Christie, the queen of crime, who died 50 years ago

BarcelonaAgatha Christie, known as the Queen of Crime, died on January 12, 1976, leaving behind an extensive bibliography that has delighted lovers of mysteries and detective stories. Her legacy has enjoyed second and third lives thanks to its numerous film and television adaptations. Coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the British writer's death, Netflix is releasing a miniseries version of one of her novels. The mystery of the spheresWe review this proposal and other series that serve to remind us of the figure of the iconic English writer.

Helena Bonham Carter and Martin Freeman are two of the familiar faces appearing in the adaptation of this 1929 novel, but the true star is the young actress Mia McKenna-Bruce, who in 2024 was recognized with the BAFTA Young Talent Award. She plays Lady Eileen Brent, a young and determined investigator who also appears in the book. The Secret of Chimneys. The action ofAgatha Christie: The Seven Spheres It takes place in the Chimnyes mansion, where a card game ends with an unexpected twist: murder. The death has a direct impact on Eileen's life, and she becomes almost unwittingly tasked with solving the mystery behind the crime. This adaptation is by Chris Chibnall, creator of Broadchurch, one of the most popular British crime series of recent times.

The BBC's 2023 adaptation of this 1939 novel is the first to feature a Black actor in the lead role and a racially charged plot. The two-part miniseries moves the action to 1954, when, during a train journey, young Luke Fitzwilliam meets Mrs. Pinkerton, who tells him that there is a murderer in her village and that she is on her way to Scotland Yard to report the crime. As they get off the train, the venerable woman is involved in an accident and dies, and Fitzwilliam decides to go to his new friend's village to try to discover the killer's identity. To adapt the story to the intended racial context, the protagonist is of Nigerian origin, a change from the original novel. At the time of the miniseries' premiere, James Pritchard, Christie's great-grandson, stated that the author would have approved of this change if she were still alive. David Jonsson, who appeared in the first and second seasons of the series, plays the protagonist.Industry.

In the latest adaptation of Towards zeroThe series, released last year, also featured a diverse and inclusive cast. In fact, one of the lead actresses is Anjana Vasan, of Indian origin and known for having starred in comedy We are Lady Parts, about a punk band made up of Muslim womenSet in England in 1936, the story is a web of love, heartbreak, and family intrigue. After a scandalous divorce, tennis star Neville Strange and his ex-wife, Audrey, decide to spend the summer together at Gull's Point, the house where they spent their childhood summers and which belongs to Strange's bedridden aunt, Lady Tressilian. Neville and Audrey are not alone in the mansion: there is also the athlete's new wife, a spiteful cousin, and the long-suffering lady's maid. Against this backdrop, a murder occurs, and Inspector Leach, who is going through a difficult time personally, will try to find the culprit and unravel the secrets hidden by all these characters. Matthew Rhys, of The Americans and The beast in me, plays the role of the detective and Anjelica Huston is Lady Tressilian.

Hercule Poirot is undoubtedly one of the most famous detectives created by Agatha Christie. For 13 seasons, actor David Suchet, chosen by Christie's family, portrayed the astute Belgian detective, who, with his intelligence and obsession with order, solves all kinds of murders, often with the collaboration of Inspector Japp (Philip Jackson) or Captain [name missing]. PoirotThe series, which aired in England from 1989 to 2013, arrives in its entirety on Filmin on January 20, although some of its seasons are also available on Prime Video.

Miss Marple is another of Agatha Christie's iconic characters: she stars in a dozen novels and appears in some twenty short stories. With these credentials, she has obviously had several television lives, with two different series. Miss Marple and Agatha Christie's MarpleThis last one, which has six seasons and aired between 2004 and 2013, is the only one that can be seen in Spain through Prime Video. The character of Jane Marple, an elderly spinster who dedicates herself to solving mysteries, was played by two different actresses during the series: Geraldine McEwan, from the first to the third season, and Julia McKenzie, from the fourth season onward.