Hugh Laurie to adapt Agatha Christie’s ‘Why Didn’t They Ask Evans?’


Hugh Laurie in Roadkill will write, direct and executive produce Agatha Christie’s Why Didn’t They Ask Evans?

Following in the footsteps of And Then There Were None, The ABC Murders and The Pale Horse, the next — and, perhaps, the most exciting to date — Agatha Christie small screen adaption will come from the mind palace of one Hugh Laurie, who will write, direct AND executive produce Christie’s Why Didn’t They Ask Evans?

According to Deadline, the star of The Night Manager and Roadkill has been enamored with Why Didn’t They Ask Evans? since he was a child and the book, first published in 1934, tells the story Bobby Jones and his socialite friend Lady Frances Derwent, who discover a dying man while hunting for a golf ball.

Jones and Derwent turn amateur sleuths 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.

Commenting on his first writer and directorial role, Laurie thoughts seemed to lie somewhere between being confident and excited to not yet fully wrapping his head around what lies ahead. “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 honored to have been given the chance to retell their story in this form,” he said. “I will wear a tie on set, and give it everything I have.

No word yet as to if Laurie will make an appearance in front of the camera but just the thought of an Agatha Christie novel through the eyes of Hugh Laurie is enough to get me to tune in.


In: Mystery