If you’re on the lookout for a thrilling new case and have already worked your way through most of Agatha Christie's brilliant adaptations, from the acclaimed Poirot to Anna Maxwell Martin’s And Then There Were None, we bring good news. We’ve unearthed a hidden-gem whodunnit in The ABC Murders. With a stellar cast featuring stars from Broadchurch, Happy Valley and Death In Paradise, plus an ingenious plot, it’s a five-star mystery series you’re going want to binge in one sitting.
The story introduces us to the famous Belgian detective Hercule Poirot (played by John Malkovich) as we’ve rarely seen him before. He’s ageing, his popularity is fading and he feels like an outsider in hostile 1930s Britain. However, he has little time to dwell on his isolation as he begins to receive sinister letters from someone signing off as ‘ABC’ – and a terrifying series of murders follows.
Intrigued? With the series available to stream now, here’s everything you need to know about The ABC Murders, including the plot, cast and how to watch it.
What is The ABC Murders about?
Based on Agatha Christie’s 1936 eponymous novel, the three-part drama transports us to England in 1933, where we meet Hercule Poirot (played by John Malkovich), who is confronted with one of his most unsettling cases yet. A wily killer, known only as ABC, stalks Britain. The murderer earned their name as they strike in a calculated pattern, leaving a copy of the ABC railway guide at each murder scene.
The dogged but ageing Belgian detective is tested at every point, the police force no longer trusts him, the public no longer love him and his enemy is determined to outwit him. He also must grapple with getting older and a hugely changing world – England is no longer tolerant, hatred is increasing through the rise of fascism and the gap between rich and poor is stark. Also, his once-booming social life has stagnated; bohemian socialites the Bright Young Things no longer invite him out and he feels more like an outsider than ever.
But the ABC killer has not forgotten him – he travels the length of the country to taunt him and, as the search unfolds across the breadth of Britain, the layers Poirot has built to protect himself in a foreign land start to peel back. Strangely, the only person who seems to understand him is the deranged killer. But can Poirot put a stop to the so-called ‘faceless beast’ and decipher the code before ABC strikes again?
Who’s in the cast of The ABC Murders?
The cast of The ABC Murders includes:
- John Malkovich (Of Mice And Men) as Hercule Poirot
- Rupert Grint (Harry Potter, Driving Lessons) as Crome
- Andrew Buchan (Broadchurch) as Franklin Clarke
- Anya Chalotra (Wanderlust) as Lily Marbury
- Eamon Farren (Twin Peaks) as Cust
- Jack Farthing (Poldark, The Riot Club) as Donald Fraser
- Tara Fitzgerald (The Camomile Lawn) as Lady Hermione Clarke
- Shirley Henderson (Happy Valley) as Mrs Rose Marbury
- Bronwyn James (Harlots, Call The Midwife) as Megan Barnard
- Freya Mavor (Skins) as Thora Grey
- Michael Shaeffer (Taboo, Vera) as Sgt Yelland
- Eve Austin (Fearless) as Betty Barnard
- Gregor Fisher (Blood Red Roses) as Dexter Dooley
- Henry Goodman (Woman In Gold, Limehouse Golem, The Chosen) as Sidney Prynne
- Lizzy McInnerny (The Crown) as Jenny Barnard
- Kevin McNally (The Man Who Knew Infinity, Legend) as Inspector Japp
- Cyril Nri (Death In Paradise, Midsomer Murders) as Father Anselm
- Suzanne Packer (Casualty) as Capstick
- Christopher Villiers (Emmerdale) as Sir Carmichael Clarke
Is there a trailer for The ABC Murders?
You can watch the trailer for The ABC Murders below.
Is The ABC Murders any good?
Yes, The ABC Murders is a phenomenally human Agatha Christie adaptation – John Malkovich’s Poirot examines the much-loved detective in a new light. He’s ageing, lonely and treated as an outsider – and his famous ‘little grey cells’, as he calls them, are greying. His intelligence, wit and resilience remain unrivalled, but the disturbing case exposes his vulnerability as he is personally dismantled by the killer he’s so desperate to catch.
How can I watch The ABC Murders?
You can watch The ABC Murders now on BBC iPlayer and Prime Video.
What other murder mysteries can I watch now?
For another brilliant Agatha Christie adaptation, we’d suggest the equally spooky And Then There Were None, where Anna Maxwell Martin (and nine other strangers) arrive at a so-called retreat on an isolated island off the Devon coast in 1939. When a storm arrives and cuts them off from civilisation, it turns out that something very sinister has brought the guests together, as they start to die one by one. And Then There Were None is available to watch now on BBC iPlayer. If you’re looking for a brighter mystery, we’d recommend High Seas. The series revolves around two sisters, Eva and Carolina, who board a ship setting sail from Spain to Brazil in the 1940s. But behind the decadent facade is a series of mystifying murders they’re left to unravel. You can watch High Seas now on Netflix.
