The world loves a good mystery, and Agatha Christie's stories are some of the most enduring of all time. Her stories and plays get turned into movies, miniseries and TV episodes fairly regularly, and the latest adaptation to hit the small screen will be a TV remake of The Witness For The Prosecution.
The BBC One made the announcement on Monday, noting that the adaptation will be a two-parter airing on the network. The story is set in 1920s London, where an heiress is murdered on some plush carpets. Everyone believes the murderer was the man set to inherit the family fortune should she perish, but he believes he can prove his innocence. Sarah Phelps, who was behind And Then There Were None and The Casual Vacancy, will also bring The Witness For The Prosecution to life. In addition, Julian Jarrold will direct and Mammoth Screen and Agatha Christie Productions will co-produce.
The Witness For The Prosecution was a short story that Agatha Christie originally published in 1925. It became so popular that a play was later commissioned based on the work. A movie based on the title was also released way back in 1957 and starred Marlene Dietrich.
The small screen adaptation is only set for the BBC One, but if you live in the States, The Witness For The Prosecution will at least be available on the Acorn TV streaming service. The BBC One's 2015 adaptation of And Then There Were None was picked up by Lifetime in the US and aired a couple of months after Sarah Phelps' big project hit the network in the UK, so we'll have to wait and see if there's a cable release this time, as well. That project was a big success on both sides of the pond, which is why it's not particularly surprising the network has decided to commission another Agatha Christie project this year. I'm a little surprised the adaptation will be The Witness for the Prosecution, as Christie has a ton of more known and longer works starring the infamous Hercule Poirot or Miss Marple, but perhaps the network wants to avoid adaptations featuring the famous characters. Plus, this one's a courtroom thriller, to boot, which should be pretty fun.
While the miniseries has been commissioned by the BBC One already, it is still in the early stages. No one has even been cast yet, meaning it will still be some time before The Witness For The Prosecution comes to life on the small screen. We'll let you know as soon as the BBC One gives the upcoming series a premiere date, and we'll definitely let you know when the project gets a US premiere date. In the meantime, you can see what else is coming up this summer with our TV premiere schedule.
