Britbox to launch Hugh Laurie’s adaptation of “Why Didn’t They Ask Evans?”

BritBox UK confirmed plans to develop Hugh Laurie’s three-part adaptation of Agatha Christie’s 1934 novel, “Why Didn’t They Ask Evans?,” set to launch exclusively on the streamer this Spring.

The series is commissioned by BritBox North America and produced by Mammoth Screen and Agatha Christie Limited. Executive Produced by Emily Powers, Gina Cronk, and Jonathan Karas for BritBox North America, Produced by Claire Jones for Mammoth Screen, alongside Damien Timmer and Helen Ziegler, and James Prichard for Agatha Christie Limited. Endeavor Content will handle international sales outside the UK, Ireland, and the Americas.

The cast features Will Poulter as Bobby Jones, a young naval officer, and Lucy Boynton (Frankie Derwent), a prototype It Girl with a taste for adventure and good hats. In the first episode, Jim Broadbent and Emma Thompson make cameo appearances as Frankie’s parents, Lord, and Lady Marcham.

Based on her 1934 novel, “Why Didn’t They Ask Evans?” opens with a fine Agatha Christie enigma: a man lies dying at the foot of a cliff, apparently the victim of an accidental fall; with his final breath, he utters the mysterious question of the title and promptly expires. Some people - perhaps most people - might shrug at the impenetrable oddness of the words and move on with their lives. But Bobby Jones and his childhood friend, Lady Frances “Frankie” Derwent, are not most people. They resolve to honor the dead man by deciphering and answering his final question. In doing so, they discover many secrets, including those about murder.