BritBox To Adapt M.L. Longworth’s Crime Novels Into TV Series ‘Murder In Provence’
M.L. Longworth’s popular detective novels are being adapted into a television series for BritBox’s first U.S. and U.K. co-production.
According to Deadline, English playwright and actress Shelagh Stephenson (who has writing credits on Downton Abbey) will write Murder In Provence, a three-episode series for the BBC and ITV streamer. It will be produced by Monumental Television, the production company behind period drama Harlots and the British sitcom Ghosts.
The project stars Roger Allam (Endeavour) as Antoine Verlaque, a Chief Magistrate in Aix-en-Provence, and Nancy Carroll (The Crown) as his love interest Marine Bonnet. The pair investigate various murders and mysteries as they uncover the dark side of the seemingly beautiful and serene city in the south of France. Keala Settle (The Greatest Showman) also stars as a detective and trusted confidante to Antoine.
Murder In Provence is based on the Verlaque & Bonnet novels from Canadian author Longworth. The first book in the series, Death at the Chateau Bremont, is set in Aix-en-Provence and follows an investigation into the mysterious death of a local nobleman who had ties to Bonnet. So far, Longworth has written nine books in the series, with the most recent, The Vanishing Museum on the Rue Mistral, been released in April.
Chloe Thomas (Harlots) will direct the TV adaptation, which is expected to begin production in July in the U.K. and France and premiere on BritBox in 2022. It will be distributed internationally by ITV Studios, which own a 51% stake in Monumental Television.
“Murder In Provence is the perfect series for our first major collaboration with our BritBox U.K. colleagues,” said Emily Powers, Head of BritBox North America.
“We hope that Murder in Provence will be the first of many global originals made exclusively for BritBox subscribers,” said BritBox UK managing director Will Harrison. “The books by M.L. Longworth seem to be tailor-made for television.”
Alison Owen of Monumental added: “The pairing of Roger Allam and Nancy Carroll as Antoine and Marine is just delicious and promises sparring and fun as they solve crimes in one of the world’s most beautiful landscapes.”
