The BBC has announced Agatha Christie’s Towards Zero, a new three-part adaptation of the classic mystery novel by the best-selling author of all time, Agatha Christie. Adapted for screen by BAFTA-nominated Rachel Bennette (NW) and directed by the Olivier Award-winning Sam Yates (Magpie), Towards Zero is produced by Mammoth Screen and Agatha Christie Limited for BBC iPlayer and BBC One, in a co-commission with BritBox International. Fifth Season will handle global distribution.
England, 1936. After a scandalous celebrity divorce, British tennis star Nevile Strange (Oliver Jackson-Cohen) and his ex-wife Audrey (Ella Lily Hyland) make the unthinkable decision to spend a summer together at Gull’s Point, their childhood home and the coastal estate of Nevile’s aunt, Lady Tressilian (Anjelica Huston).
With unfinished business between the former childhood sweethearts, plus the presence of Nevile’s new wife Kay (Mimi Keene), tensions are running high. Add to this a long-suffering lady’s companion, a mysterious gentleman’s valet, an exiled cousin with a grudge, a venerable family lawyer, an inquisitive orphan and a French con man, and soon there will be murder. A troubled detective must rediscover his purpose to untangle a toxic web of jealousy, deceit and dysfunction. Can he solve the crime before another victim meets their death?
An explosive love triangle, a formidable matriarch and a house party of enemies. All compelled… Towards Zero.
The series will star Jackie Clune (Motherland), Grace Doherty (Call the Midwife), Jack Farthing (Rain Dogs), Khalil Gharbia (Mary & George), Adam Hugill (Sherwood), Academy Award-winner Anjelica Huston (The Grifters), Ella Lily Hyland (Black Doves), Oliver Jackson-Cohen (The Haunting of Hill House), Mimi Keene (Sex Education), Clarke Peters (The Wire), Emmy winner Matthew Rhys (The Americans) and Oliver Award-winner Anjana Vasan (Black Mirror: Demon 79).
Anjelica Huston says: “I have long been a fan of Agatha Christie and the murder-mystery genre and always love the opportunity to film in England. I am thrilled to be working with director Sam Yates and this wonderful cast, and excited to play the clever and dignified Camilla, Lady Tressilian.”
James Prichard, executive producer for Agatha Christie Limited, says: “This is a very special production. Rachel has done an extraordinary job on making my great-grandmother’s story even more dramatic, intense and troubling. Add in a cast of this calibre and viewers are in for a real treat.”
Sheena Bucktowonsing and Damien Timmer, executive producers for Mammoth Screen, say: “We are privileged to be working with Hollywood legend Anjelica Huston and a particularly stellar cast on one of Agatha Christie’s most intriguing novels – the sun drenched Towards Zero. It’s a tale of tennis, an incendiary love triangle, the Devon coastline and murder!”
Lindsay Salt, Director of BBC Drama, says: “For a writer whose work remains globally famous yet quintessentially British, it feels incredibly fitting that Towards Zero has attracted such a dazzling array of UK talent on both sides of the camera, alongside some exciting international names and Hollywood royalty. It’s an honour to partner with Agatha Christie Limited and Mammoth Screen to bring this tense, surprising and magnetic new adaptation to BBC iPlayer and BBC One.”
Robert Schildhouse, President of BritBox North America and General Manager of BritBox International says: “It’s no mystery why BritBox subscribers love Agatha Christie – they love her storytelling that keeps them guessing to the very end. For our part, we’re obsessed with this amazing cast, and can’t wait for Towards Zero to delight our audiences.”
Agatha Christie’s Towards Zero follows 2023’s Murder is Easy which averaged 7 million viewers across both parts on the BBC, making it one of the most watched new dramas of last year across all channels and streamers.
Agatha Christie’s Towards Zero (3×60′) is produced by Mammoth Screen (part of ITV Studios) and Agatha Christie Limited, and is a co-commission between the BBC and BritBox International. It is adapted by Rachel Bennette, directed by Sam Yates and produced by Rebecca Durbin. Executive producers are James Prichard for Agatha Christie Limited, Sheena Bucktowonsing and Damien Timmer for Mammoth Screen, Danielle Scott-Haughton for the BBC and Jon Farrar, Stephen Nye and Robert Schildhouse for BritBox International.
Filming on Agatha Christie’s Towards Zero is now underway in and around Bristol and on the Devon coast. The series will air on BBC iPlayer and BBC One, and outside of the UK on BritBox International’s streaming service in the US and Canada.
