For the first time ever, Agatha Christie’s Poirot and Foyle’s War will be on the ballot for Emmy® Awards voters to consider as nominees, thanks to Acorn TV.
If you’ve ever wondered why the utterly fabulous Agatha Christie’s Poirot and Foyle’s War, along with their respective stars David Suchet and Michael Kitchen, have never been nominated before, it has to do with the Emmy rules.
Long story short: With both series’ final seasons having Acorn Productions and Acorn TV (entities owned by the US-based RLJ Entertainment) behind them, Poirot and Foyle’s War are finally eligible for Emmys. (Woo hoo!)
So, for the first time ever, Emmy voters will be able to nominate these two of Britain’s most beloved television series of all time.
Acorn TV is submitting the series finales of Agatha Christie’s Poirot and Foyle’s War — respectively “Curtain: Poirot’s Last Case” and “Elise: The Final Mystery” — for consideration in the Outstanding TV Movie and 13 other categories, including David Suchet as Hercule Poirot and Michael Kitchen Christopher Foyle for Lead Actor in a Limited Series/TV Movie; Hugh Fraser as Captain Hastings for Supporting Actor; Honeysuckle Weeks as Samantha Stewart Wainwright for Supporting Actress; and Foyle’s War creator Anthony Horowitz for Writing, among others (see below for the full lists).
Agatha Christie’s Poirot
Having portrayed Hercule Poirot in every adaptation of all 70 of Agatha Christie’s “Poirot” stories over the course of 25 years, David Suchet has been synonymous with the beloved and brilliant Belgian detective with the little grey cells.
Now, through the US premiere of “Curtain: Poirot’s Last Case” on Acorn TV in August 2014, Suchet and Hugh Fraser finally have the opportunity to be recognized by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.
Set in post-war 1940s England, “Curtain” finds an ailing Poirot reuniting with Captain Hastings at Styles, the place where they solved their first murder together thirty years earlier. Knowing that one of the guests is a killer, Poirot tries to prevent another murder, understanding that his own death is nearing.
As the UK’s The Telegraph exclaimed, “David Suchet’s swansong as Hercule Poirot proved that the show has been one of TV’s greatest achievements […] and great TV performances of the past 30 years […] five stars.”
The Emmy categories for which Agatha Christie’s Poirot: “Curtain: Poirot’s Last Case” is submitted for consideration include:
- Television Movie
- Lead Actor in a Limited Series or a Movie for David Suchet
- Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or a Movie for Hugh Fraser
- Writing for a Limited Series, Movie or a Dramatic Special for Kevin Elyot
- Directing for a Limited Series, Movie or Dramatic Special for Hettie MacDonald
- Cinematography for a Limited Series or a Movie
- Production Design for a Narrative Period Program (One Hour or More)
- Costumes for a Period/Fantasy Series, Limited Series, or Movie
- Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Limited Series or a Movie
- Makeup for a Limited Series or Movie
- Music Composition for a Limited Series, Movie or a Special (Original Dramatic Score)
- Sound Editing for a Limited Series, Movie or a Special
- Sound Mixing for a Limited Series or Movie
- Casting for a Limited Series, Movie or a Special
Foyle’s War
For more than a dozen years, Foyle’s War has been universally acclaimed by critics and fans alike on both sides of the pond. Led by Michael Kitchen’s Emmy-worthy performance as Christopher Foyle and Honeysuckle Weeks as his able assistant Sam Stewart, “the series ends on a perfect note” (The New York Times).
Foyle’s War is created and written by renowned novelist and screenwriter Anthony Horowitz, who wrote the two recent “Sherlock Holmes” novels and the upcoming “James Bond” novel. Acorn TV premiered Foyle’s War: “Elise: The Final Mystery” in February 2015.
In “Elise,” Foyle’s colleague Hilda Pierce is nearly killed in an attempted assassination, so he and Sam must re-examine Hilda’s top secret role during WWII in order to find out if there was a traitor at the heart of the Special Operations Executive.
Viewers loved it, and so did the critics. To wit:
“One of television’s masterpieces […] started great and just keeps getting better […] so unbelievably good” — Los Angeles Times
“What makes the whole thing irresistible is Michael Kitchen’s enthralling performance as Foyle […] (with) his reticence, sly humor and triumphant decency.” —NPR’s Fresh Air
“One of the best mysteries you’ll ever see on the telly” — San Francisco Chronicle
“A triumph from start to finish” —The Wall Street Journal
The Emmy categories for which Foyle’s War: “Elise: The Final Mystery” is submitted for consideration include:
- Television Movie
- Lead Actor in a Limited Series or a Movie for Michael Kitchen
- Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or a Movie for Honeysuckle Weeks
- Writing for a Limited Series, Movie or a Dramatic Special for Anthony Horowitz
- Directing for a Limited Series, Movie or Dramatic Special for Andy Hay
- Cinematography for a Limited Series or a Movie
- Production Design for a Narrative Period Program (One Hour or More)
- Costumes for a Period/Fantasy Series, Limited Series, or Movie
- Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Limited Series or a Movie
- Hairstyling for a Limited Series or Movie
- Music Composition for a Limited Series, Movie or a Special (Original Dramatic Score)
- Sound Editing for a Limited Series, Movie or a Special
- Sound Mixing for a Limited Series or Movie
- Casting for a Limited Series, Movie or a Special
RLJ Entertainment acquired all rights to Foyle’s War in November 2010, and owns a majority share of Agatha Christie Ltd, which manages Christie’s extensive body of literary works.
Voting for the 2015 Emmy nominations ends on 26 June, with the nominations announced on 16 July.
The 67th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony will be held on Sunday, 20 September, at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, and will be broadcast live on Fox at 8 PM ET/5 PM PT.
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