Doctor Who Showrunner Roped in for Christie’s Lesser-Known Novel Adaptation

Netflix has announced that they’ll be adapting the Agatha Christie novel, The Seven Dials Mystery. Doctor Who showrunner Chris Chibnall has come on board to write the screenplay. 

Chibnall has previously worked as the head writer for the 2005 spin-off Torchwood and served as the showrunner for Doctor Who season 11. He casted Jodie Whittaker as the first female Doctor in the show’s history. 

However, Chibnall faced some controversies while serving as the showrunner of Doctor Who. Many criticized him for making the episodes too politically charged. 

Netflix has officially announced that they’re collaborating with Chris Chibnall for an adaptation of Agatha Christie’s 1929 novel, The Seven Dials Mystery. Suzanne Mackie will serve as the executive producer alongside Chriss Sussman. Chris Sweeney has been roped in as the director. 

Suzanne Mackie made an official statement about the film. Check it out here:

I am excited to be bringing The Seven Dials Mystery to life, and to be introducing a new generation of iconic Christie characters to the screen. It has been a joy to work with Chris Chibnall in creating this bold, authored and ambitious vision for the series. Together with Chris Sussman and Agatha Christie Limited and, under the masterful direction of Chris Sweeney, we are thrilled to embark on this creative journey. I could not think of a more exciting first project for Orchid Pictures, or a more perfect home for this story than Netflix.

Christie’s works has been adapted for the big screen and the television multiple times. Kenneth Branagh stars as Hercule Poirot in the latest Poirot movies, but it all began in 1928 with the silent film based on The Passing of Mr Quin. However, The Seven Dials Mystery is not one of her best-known novels.

The novel does not feature either of her popular detectives, Hercule Poirot or Miss Marple. It features a young socialite and aristocrat, Lady “Bundle” Brent, first introduced in her 1925 novel The Secret of Chimneys. 

Bundle Brent is known for her rebellious traits and is usually described as a quintessential “flapper”. It will be interesting to see how Chibnall deals with the character in his screenplay.