BBC to Adapt Seven Agatha Christie Dramas

Last Christmas season, the BBC adapted Agatha Christie's creepy murder mysery And Then There Were None to great critical and ratings success. (The three-part series aired on Lifetime in the U.S. in March.) According to Cultbox, the tradition will continue with the BBC planning to adapt seven more Christie stories into TV dramas. The era of #peakTV certainly has its upsides.

Sarah Phelps — the screenwriter behind And Then There Were None — has adapted both Ordeal By Innocence and The Witness For the Prosecution for the Beeb. The latter has already begun filming, with Toby Jones, Andrea Risenborough, Kim Cattrall, and David Haig amongst the all-star cast. And Then There Were None had a similarly stellar cast that included Poldark's Aiden Turner, Game of Thrones' Charles Dance, Miranda Richardson, and Sam Neill. Check out the chills-inducing trailer...

Other titles confirmed for adaptation include Death Comes As the End, a murder mystery set in Ancient Egypt, andThe ABC Murders, a serial killer story set in 1930s Britain.

The BBC seems confident in its efforts to make the British network the place to go for Agatha Christie adaptation. Director of BBC Content Charlotte Moore said of the upcoming Christie projects:

These new commissions continue BBC One’s special relationship as the home of Agatha Christie in the UK. Our combined creative ambition to reinvent Christie's novels for a modern audience promises to bring event television of the highest quality to a new generation enjoyed by fans old and new.

Hilary Strong, Chief Executive Officer, Agatha Christie Limited added:

And Then There Were None was a highlight of the 2015 BBC One Christmas schedule, and we are truly delighted to be building on the success of that show, first with The Witness For The Prosecution, and then with adaptations of seven more iconic Agatha Christie titles.

What Sarah Phelps brought to And Then There Were None was a new way of interpreting Christie for a modern audience, and Agatha Christie Ltd is thrilled to be bringing this psychologically rich, visceral and contemporary sensibility to more classic Christie titles for a new generation of fans.

Agatha Christie adaptations aren't just all the rage on TV. There are currently two Agatha Christie biopic adventures in development for the big screen.