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BritBox and the BBC bring a new twist to one of the most famous fictional detectives of the last century.
Both ports are lit green Herculesa six-episode mystery that delves into the youthful days of Agatha Christie’s famous detective Hercule Poirot. Edward Bluemel (Madam Jane, sex education) will play the title character.
Benji Walters (Code of Silence) is writing the series, and Johnny Campbell (In the flesh, am I irrational?) is set to direct the first two episodes. The film is produced by Mammoth Screen (part of ITV Studios) and Agatha Christie Limited Hercules.
Bluemel – who will direct another series based on Christie’s Netflix work Seven requests – He will be the last actor to face Poirot. David Suchet played the titular Belgian detective for nearly 25 years in the ITV series. Kenneth Branagh, Albert Finney and Peter Ustinov, among others, also played Poirot. It remains to be seen whether the new series will require Bluemel to embrace the character’s individual looks – most notably the waxed mustache and subtle fashion sense.
James Pritchard, executive director of series production for Agatha Christie Ltd, said: “My father had the privilege of working with David Suchet for almost 25 years, and I am now fortunate to be able to share my grandmother’s wonderful stories with a new generation of viewers. Edward Bluemel is a hugely talented actor and will make a fantastic addition to a long line of actors who have played this iconic character, aided and abetted by Benji Walters’ thoughtful script. I can’t wait to see Edward on screen as Hercule Poirot.”
Hercules is described as “an intimate study of Hercule the man and an epic portrait of Britain between the wars. The series takes a magnifying glass on three of Christie’s most famous stories, while also charting Hercules’s blossoming friendship with Captain Arthur Hastings, his early encounters with Scotland Yard’s James Japp, and his introduction to a certain enemy.”
“I feel very fortunate to have had the trust of such an iconic character played by so many great actors,” Bluemel said. “I can’t wait to continue Hercules’ legacy.”
Walters and Campbell are executive producers Hercules With Pritchard for Agatha Christie Limited, Rebecca Durbin and Damian Timmer for Mammoth Screen, Nick Lampon for BBC, and Robert Schildhouse, John Farrar and Stephen Nye for BritBox. Charlie Palmer is the producer of the series. The fifth season will distribute the series internationally.
