Following the cancellation of the miniseries’ debut during the BBC’s Christmas 2017 schedule, Ordeal by Innocence now has an air date in the UK.
Adapted from Agatha Christie‘s mystery novel of the same name, Ordeal by Innocence the miniseries had featured Ed Westwick in the role of Mickey Argyll. However, the program was pulled following sexual assault allegations against Westwick, which he denied.
The producers subsequently recast the role and re-shot numerous scenes to save all the work that had already been done by cast and crew and bring Ordeal by Innocence to telly. (Much like director Ridley Scott did with Kevin Spacey’s role in the film All the Money in the World, which earned his replacement, Christopher Plummer, a Best Supporting Actor Oscar® nomination.)
Taking over the role of Mickey is Christian Cooke (The Art of More).
The story revolves around the murder of wealthy philanthropist Rachel Argyll (Anna Chancellor, Trust) at her family estate of Sunny Point. Arrested for her murder is Rachel’s delinquent adopted son Jack (Anthony Boyle, Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams), who protests his innocence.
Fast forward eighteen months, when mysterious scientist Dr. Arthur Calgary (Luke Treadaway, Fortitude) arrives at Sunny Point, claiming he has the alibi that can prove Jack’s innocence. The thing is, Jack died in prison before the case could go to trial, and now the Argyll family is reluctant to dig up the secrets of the past.
Neither Leo (Bill Nighy, Worricker trilogy), Rachel’s widower and soon-to-be husband of his secretary Gwenda Vaughan (Alice Eve, Black Mirror), nor Rachel’s longtime housekeeper Kirsten Lindstrom (Morven Christie, Grantchester) or any of Rachel’s other adopted children — Mary (Eleanor Tomlinson, Poldark), Mickey (Christian Cooke), Tina (Crystal Clarke, Assassin’s Creed), or Hester (Ella Purnell, Sweetbitter) — is willing to reopen that horrible chapter of their lives.
However, they must face the implications of Calgary’s story. If he is telling the truth, then the wrong person was arrested for Rachel’s murder. And if Jack was innocent, then it must have been somebody else at Sunny Point who killed Rachel. Perhaps one of the Argyll family…
Written by Sarah Phelps (And Then There Were None), directed by Sandra Goldbacher (Victoria), executive produced by Damien Timmer (Endeavour) and Basi Akpabio (The Witness for the Prosecution), and produced by Roopesh Parekh (Poldark), the three-part drama features Matthew Goode (The Crown), Sammy Moore (The Evermoor Chronicles), and James E Thompson (The Loch).
Ordeal by Innocence premieres in the UK with its first episode on Easter Sunday, April 1, on BBC One (time TBA).
Amazon has not announced yet the launch date for the miniseries on Prime Video in the US, so stay tuned for updates.
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