Agatha Christie fans are already hooked on new crime drama Tommy & Tuppence

Agatha Christie’s beloved detective duo has been brought into the present day, and early reactions suggest the new adaptation has already found an audience.

Agatha Christie’s Tommy & Tuppence, a six-part BritBox drama starring Antonia Thomas, Josh Dylan and Imelda Staunton, premiered in the US and Canada on September 15, 2026. The series marks the first contemporary English-language television adaptation of Christie’s stories and relocates Tommy and Tuppence’s adventures to modern-day London.

Christie’s sleuthing pair have a long history. Tommy and Tuppence first appeared in the 1922 novel The Secret Adversary and went on to feature across four novels and one collection of short stories.

For the new series, creator and writer Phoebe Eclair-Powell, whose credits include The Road Trip and Harm, has reworked the characters for a contemporary setting. Fergus O’Brien, known for Happy Valley and The Tourist, and Ellie Heydon, whose credits include Outrageous and Trying, direct the six episodes.

BritBox describes the series as a modern take on the duo that retains the playful romance and screwball energy associated with Christie’s characters.

Who are Tommy and Tuppence?

At the centre of the drama is Tuppence, an actress with an unstoppable personality and a determination to get her way.

Tommy, meanwhile, is a meticulous and charming crime writer who has lost his enthusiasm for the work. His outlook begins to change when Tuppence unexpectedly comes back into his life.

Their relationship is central to the series. As BritBox puts it, the pair repeatedly fall in and out of love while finding themselves drawn into one mystery after another.

The new adaptation also gives the pair a more contemporary professional setup. They reunite as aspiring detectives in modern London, with their investigations unfolding against a world of smartphones, social media and other elements of present-day life.

The decision to bring the characters into the 21st century is a significant part of the show’s identity. BritBox has described it as its first contemporary English-language television adaptation of an Agatha Christie story.

The central appeal, however, remains familiar: two people with complicated feelings for each other attempting to solve crimes while navigating their own relationship.

Viewers are already getting hooked

Early audience reactions have been enthusiastic, with viewers describing the series as “utterly superb” and sharing how quickly they have become invested.

One viewer wrote on social media that they were “so hooked” after only two episodes, while another praised the series and immediately called for a second season.

The response from critics has also been broadly positive, although some reviews have pointed to differences in tone and the pace of the mysteries.

The Los Angeles Times praised the production as well produced and nicely shot, highlighting the close-ups of its two leads. Its review also noted that the series leans more toward romantic drama than outright comedy, giving the show a relatively leisurely feel.

Other early reviews have similarly highlighted the chemistry between Thomas and Dylan while noting that the mysteries themselves do not always provide the strongest payoffs.

That combination of romance, character chemistry and traditional mystery appears to be an important part of what distinguishes this version of Tommy and Tuppence from more familiar Christie adaptations.

Antonia Thomas and Josh Dylan lead the cast

Antonia Thomas takes on the role of Tuppence, following appearances in The Good Doctor and Still Up. Josh Dylan plays Tommy, with credits including The Buccaneers and Mamma Mia 2.

Their performances are central to the show’s contemporary interpretation of the characters. Reviews have particularly focused on the playful dynamic between the two leads, whose relationship develops alongside the cases they investigate.

Imelda Staunton also has a major role as Aunt Ada, Tommy’s wry, retired private detective aunt.

Staunton is perhaps best known internationally for roles in the Harry Potter films and The Crown. In Tommy & Tuppence, Aunt Ada provides the duo with an experienced detective connection as they attempt to find their feet in the world of crime solving.

The wider cast includes Nicholas Richardson, known for Wu-Tang: An American Saga and Younger; Charlie Condou, whose credits include Dr. Who and Unforgotten; Callie Cooke, who has appeared in F1 and Cheaters; and Chizzy Akudolu, known for Little Disasters and The Woman in the Wall.

BritBox has also announced additional cast members for the production, with filming taking place in London.

A contemporary take on a classic Christie partnership

One of the biggest changes in this adaptation is its setting.

Rather than placing Tommy and Tuppence in the period in which Christie originally created them, the new series brings their investigations into present-day London. That allows the production to preserve the familiar murder-mystery framework while introducing modern technology and a contemporary social environment.

The result is intended to feel recognisably Christie while giving the characters room to operate as modern detectives. BritBox has positioned the series as a mixture of mystery, romance and comedy, with the relationship between its leads running through the individual cases.

The approach has already attracted attention from critics. Rotten Tomatoes currently lists the first season with a 100% Tomatometer based on five critic reviews, although the number of reviews remains small.

When can you watch Tommy & Tuppence?

Agatha Christie’s Tommy & Tuppence premiered on BritBox in the US and Canada on September 15, 2026, with six episodes running approximately 45 minutes each. The standard rollout began with two episodes at launch, followed by weekly releases.

For viewers in the UK, a release date has yet to be announced.

For Christie fans looking for something familiar but updated, the series offers a new way into one of the author’s lesser-adapted detective partnerships, with Antonia Thomas and Josh Dylan at the centre and Imelda Staunton adding another familiar face to the cast.

With its combination of murder mysteries, romance and modern London, Tommy & Tuppence is putting one of Agatha Christie’s oldest detective partnerships into a very different era.