Agatha Christie adaptations tend to lean heavily on tweeds, fog, and characters of a certain age. Tommy and Tuppence, BritBox’s latest Christie series, throws most of that out the window and is considerably more fun for it.
This Tommy and Tuppence review finds the show doing something genuinely refreshing with the source material. Based on Christie’s unusually youth-oriented novels, the series extends the cosy British murder mystery genre somewhere it rarely goes: sexy. Two former lovers, separated by an ocean, reunite and discover a shared obsession with crime solving. It works.
Tommy (Josh Dylan) is a doctor and author attending his friend Bingo’s wedding when he runs into Tuppence (Antonia Thomas), his former girlfriend who left for LA but has come home. The spark between them is immediate and undeniable. Before they have time to do anything about it, Bingo’s mistress and wedding guest Tatiana is stabbed to death in the bathroom. With her last breath, she names Bingo as her killer.
Tommy and Tuppence are having none of it.
Tommy and Tuppence Review: The Case
Convinced their friend is innocent, the pair dive in. Tatiana had a stalker. The texts between them are discovered in her home. But who sent them? Who is Lena? Who is Simon? Who is in the giant bunny costume? And who is following Tuppence at night? Is she in danger for poking her nose where it does not belong?
The prospect of solving the crime not only brings Tommy and Tuppence together fast, it gives them both something to live for. They decide to open their own detective agency. Their relationship is the driving force of the series and the writers know it. He is brainy, methodical, and careful. She is, as the show itself puts it, a bomb explosion. The opposites that attract formula is well worn but Dylan and Thomas have enough chemistry to make it feel earned.
Why We Love Imelda Staunton
- She played Queen Elizabeth II in the final two seasons of The Crown, stepping into the role after Olivia Colman and making it entirely her own. The performance earned her a BAFTA nomination and universal critical acclaim.
- She received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress for Mike Leigh’s Vera Drake in 2004, playing a working class woman who secretly performs illegal abortions in 1950s London. It is one of the great screen performances of that decade.
- She is Dolores Umbridge. Yes, that Dolores Umbridge. The Harry Potter villain so effective at being loathsome that audiences genuinely despised her. That is the mark of a great performance.
- She is a celebrated stage actress and West End legend, the recipient of an Olivier Award and a Tony Award. Her stage work is considered some of the finest in British theatre.
- She is 68 years old, has been working at the top of her craft for over four decades, and shows absolutely no signs of slowing down. Tommy and Tuppence is proof.
The secret weapon is Tuppence’s aunt Ada, played by Imelda Staunton, an acclaimed author who knows exactly what she is talking about when it comes to crime and quietly encourages them at every turn. She is a delight.
The series is fun, if featherlight, with a few glitches along the way. For a cosy murder mystery it is unusually urban and youth oriented, which is precisely what makes it stand out from the Christie crowd.
Tommy and Tuppence premieres September 15 on BritBox.
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