If you are anything like my family, then you will be VERY pleased to know that PBS has a new Masterpiece Mystery! summer planned for us. I have to tell you, I am EXCITED about their new 2011 line-up!
Our very favorite Belgian sleuth, Hercule Poirot, will be the “opening act” (so to speak). Beginning on Sunday, June 19, David Suchet will be gracing us with three new 90-minute Hercule Poirot mysteries. Yes, Poirot, with the help of his little, grey cells, will be solving crimes for the usually-baffled police. (I am especially excited to see what Masterpiece Mystery! will be doing with Agatha Christie’s Hallowe’en Party. It is one of my seasonal mysteries that I never tire of hearing/reading.)
Enter one of the most beloved little, old lady sleuths, with her knitting needles… That’s right, following Poirot will be Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple‘s turn to solve a crime. Unfortunately, there will only be one new Miss Marple Masterpiece Mystery! movie, but one is better than none. (Miss Marple is played by Julia McKenzie.)
The next Masterpiece Mystery! series to air is Zen, a new series which will be set in today’s Italy. The series is based on the mysteries by Michael Dibdin, and will star Rufus Sewell.
Yet another nice surprise is seeing that Inspector Lewis (starring Kevin Whately and Laurence Fox) will be returning in September 2011. (I have had to guess at the titles of the episodes, as they are not yet listed on the PBS site. I’m pretty sure of their chronological order.)
Sunday, June 19, 2011 – Hercule Poirot: Three Act Tragedy
Sunday, June 26, 2011 – Hercule Poirot: The Clocks
Sunday, July 3, 2011 – Hercule Poirot: Hallowe’en Party
Sunday, July 10, 2011 – Miss Marple: The Pale Horse
Sunday, July 17, 2011 – Zen: Vendetta
Sunday, July 24, 2011 – Zen: Cabal
Sunday, July 31, 2011 – Zen: Ratking
Sunday, September 4, 2011 – Inspector Lewis: Old, Unhappy, Far Off Things (?)
Sunday, September 18, 2011 – Inspector Lewis: Wild Justice (?)
Sunday, September 25, 2011 – Inspector Lewis: The Mind Has Mountains (?)
Sunday, October 9, 2011 – Inspector Lewis: The Gift of Promise (?)
Looks like we will soon be in for a lot of Masterpiece Mystery! sleuthing…
Mary Joy says
So glad to hear this as Masterpiece Mystery is one of the few shows I truly look forward to watching. Dare I ask, why can’t American TV do shows this well?
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Mary Joy, we are really looking forward to these PBS Masterpiece Mystery! shows, also. I totally agree with you, Mary Joy, about our not being able to capture the essence of these British shows…
Susan says
I love Sunday nights when MP Mystery is in the mix!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Me, too, Susan!
Deborah says
Thanks for this information! I’m looking forward to these mysteries. Is anyone familiar with the Zen series? What’s it like?
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Deborah, I know we get the Masterpiece programs quite a bit after they are shown in Great Britain. I wonder if they have already shown Zen…
OolaRaisin says
Zen is terrific! Stylish, compelling, modern–while still being a bit of a throwback. Sewell makes a great detective. I also love Coupling’s Ben Miles in it. Excellent series. And the perfect bridge between the Christie detectives and Lewis. Seriously, I highly, highly recommend it. Sure, it’s not really cozy. But even as a cozy fan, that really didn’t bother me. I’m glad that Mystery! is branching out.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
That’s quite an endorsement for Zen, OolaRaisin. I may just have to try it!
Donna says
Thanks so much for posting this information, Danna! That gives me something to look forward to seeing. The Suchet Poirot is one of my all time favorite series, and Three Act Tragedy is one of my favorite Christies!
Sheila says
Hi from across the pond. We have indeed already seen Zen over here and i think it got a good reception. However, i wasn’t very keen on it. It isn’t cosy like the others in the Masterpiece Mysteries season or like Midsomer Murders. It was quite dark at times and not only its stories! Rather like CSI, no one seemed able to turn a light switch on! Unusually, i also found the plots difficult to follow, as characters seemed to wander in and out – they were obviously known to Zen but they weren’t explained to the audience. it may be better if you are familiar with the books, they’re not ones i’ve read as generally I’m not a fan of thrillers or suspense. (I like to read cosies!). Zen was also played in a very downbeat, dare i say, zen like, manner and i didn’t find him very likeable, though good looking!
I won’t watch another season, but then it wasn’t really the sort of thing i generally watch or read, so i’ll conclude by saying that it’s probably best to watch and then decide.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Sheila, thank you so much for posting this about Zen. I, too, prefer the Masterpiece Mystery! shows that have a more cozy feeling to them. I didn’t like the new adaptation of Sherlock Holmes. (I found out that I was in the minority on that one after I posted an entry about it.) If Zen is as dark that, then I will probably not be adding it to my viewing favorites. (I wasn’t crazy about Wallander, either.)
Sheila says
PS I love Poirot, Miss Marple and Inspector Lewis and those shouldn’t be missed!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
I am also looking forward to those three series, Sheila. I guess you have already seen them…
Larraine says
Saw that on Facebook yesterday. Really looking forward to a mysterious summer!
Sheila says
Hi Danna,
Yes, I’ve seen the Poirot etc. shows, they are excellent and I love watching them, even when repeated.
Zen is definitely in the new Sherlock Holmes/Wallender style. I don’t like Wallender, but, I’m with the majority with Sherlock Holmes I’m afraid!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Sheila, there seem to be so few “Cozy” mystery shows these days, and so many “Wallender-vein” shows. I think that is probably why I most prefer period piece Cozy mystery shows, followed by modern-day shows with a Cozy feel to them (like Midsomer Murders and even Inspector Lewis…)
David says
I am from the UK, and ITV are showing Miss Marple: Why Didn’t They Ask Evans on Wednesday night. I have already seen it and it is very good. I wish that PBS had scheduled a different episode as The Pale Horse, in my opinion, wasn’t the best Miss Marple episode. There are quite dark undertones running throughout it, but then so did the book. It just didn’t seem like a typical Marple although the book was never a Miss Marple story in the first place. Let me know what you think of it.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
David, I still wonder why production companies can’t simply make Miss Marple shows out of the Miss Marple mystery books. There is a reason the Miss Marple mysteries are so phenomenally popular throughout the world… Miss Marple is a great Cozy character, who solves her crimes in great Cozy settings! Unfortunately, production companies seem to be changing Jane, placing her into plots that Miss Marple would not have felt comfortable being in.
(I wrote about this problem two years ago, and hope that the new Miss Marple doesn’t harken back to this entry!)
Mercer says
I really enjoyed last night’s Poirot. I would like to know when you will show another one.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Mercer, it looks like you are in luck. They (PBS) will be showing a new Poirot mystery the next two Sundays, and they will follow them with an all new Miss Marple mystery. Zen will be following these shows, although I understand Zen isn’t a period piece mystery…
Thomas says
When are you going to show George Gently?
Danna - cozy mystery list says
It would be nice if Masterpiece Mystery! would pick up the George Gently mysteries, wouldn’t it?