According to Deadline, three-time Golden Globe winner Hugh Laurie has officially signed on to write and direct BritBox’s limited series adaptation of Agatha Christie’s hit crime novel Why Didn’t They Ask Evans? The project also marks Laurie’s TV directing comeback nine years after helming an episode of his acclaimed medical series House. It’s still unclear if Laurie will also be leading the series or not. The three-part miniseries will be BritBox’s biggest U.S. commission to date and is expected to make its debut in 2022.
“The hairs on the back of my neck haven’t properly settled down from the first time I grasped the beauty of the essential mystery. Since then, I have fallen deeper and deeper in love with the characters, and feel immensely honoured to have been given the chance to retell their story in this form,” Laurie, who have been fan of the novel since he was a child, said in statement. “I will wear a tie on set, and give it everything I have.”
“Hugh Laurie’s writing pays homage to the brilliance of the original Agatha Christie mystery while adding fresh wit, humor, and creativity that will appeal to all audiences,” Head of BritBox North America’s Emily Powers said in a statement.
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First published in 1934, Why Didn’t They Ask Evans was one of Agatha Christie’s popular detective fictions. It follows the story of Bobby Jones and his socialite friend Lady Frances Derwent, who discover a dying man while hunting for a golf ball. Their curiosity led them both into becoming amateur investigators as they seek to unravel the mystery of the man, who has the picture of a beautiful young woman in his pocket, and, with his last breath, utters the cryptic question that forms the series’ title. The amiable duo approach their investigation with a levity that belies the danger they encounter.
On top of directing and writing the project, Laurie is also serving as an executive producer with Mammoth Screen set as its studio. Mammoth is no stranger to Agatha Christie adaptations as they’ve previously produced And Then There Were None and The ABC Murders.
“His dazzling scripts take the mischief and cleverness of the original novel to a new level, and with Hugh sitting in the director’s chair, this really is going to be an authored treat for Christie fans everywhere,” Mammoth’s director of television and executive producer Helen Ziegler said
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Hugh Laurie is best known for his acclaimed roles in TV shows such as House and The Night Manager, which both gave him Golden Globe wins for Best Actor in a Drama Series and Best Supporting Actor in a Miniseries, respectively. He will next be seen in the upcoming second season of HBO’s space comedy series Avenue 5.
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