Started December 26, 2018 · Ended · Based on 1 season, 3 episodes through December 28, 2018 · TV-14 · 60 min
Set in Britain in 1933, the show follows an older Hercule Poirot after his best years have passed. A killer sends him letters that promise murders in towns linked to the alphabet. Poirot tries to stop the killings while Inspector Crome doubts his past and pushes him aside. The story is a grim, slow crime mystery with war memories, cruel people, and bloody deaths.
The show makes Poirot’s refugee past and his treatment as a foreigner a major part of the case. Police pressure, anti-foreigner signs, and the rise of British fascists surround him through the three episodes. Poirot’s old life as a Catholic priest and the burning of his church explain his pain and guilt. These identity and history themes recur, but the main story still centers on solving the murders and exposing a rich man’s plan.
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Was our 38% Woke rating accurate?
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for The ABC Murders.
Woke representation / casting
The show gives Anya Chalotra’s Indian-background Lily Marbury a recurring role close to the main case. Black actor Cyril Nri appears as Father Anselm in a smaller role. These choices add some visible diversity to a 1933 British mystery, but the show does not build a diversity-first group or promote the casting as an identity message.
14%
Woke political dialogue
The show repeats insults and suspicion aimed at Poirot because he is a foreigner. Inspector Crome questions his name, past, and right to work with the police. The dialogue uses 1933 fascist and anti-foreigner ideas, but it does not turn them into speeches about present-day politics.
12%
Identity-driven story themes
Poirot’s refugee past is a major subplot across all three episodes. The show reveals that he was a Catholic priest who fled Belgium after his church and its people were burned. The case keeps linking his pain to the way Britain treats foreigners while fascist signs spread. These themes are important, but the murder puzzle remains the main story.
35%
Western institutional / cultural critique
Police officers search Poirot’s home and dismiss his warnings because they distrust him as a foreigner. The show presents public suspicion and rising fascism as harmful. This criticism is tied to 1933 xenophobia rather than a sustained modern attack on Western culture or institutions.
14%
Woke character or canon changes
The adaptation changes Poirot from a former Belgian police officer into a former Catholic priest who came to Britain as a refugee. It adds war trauma and makes anti-foreigner pressure central to his life. It also ties the killer’s game to Poirot’s earlier cases and reputation, which is not in the novel. These identity-focused changes shape all three episodes, while the killer and main mystery stay close to Christie’s book.
34%
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
A few audience posts treated the added refugee and anti-foreigner material as political propaganda. Most reported complaints focused on the dark tone, Malkovich’s version of Poirot, or changes to Christie’s plot. The anti-woke reaction is small and poorly supported by mainstream coverage.
5%
Creator track record context
The cached context rates Sarah Phelps and Farah Abushwesha higher for their focus on complex women and equality work. Alex Gabassi and Agatha Christie have little activist context in the cached notes. Title interviews by Phelps and Abushwesha connect this show to hostility toward foreigners and modern outsider concerns. This gives supporting context, but the show is not a creator manifesto.
30%
Production
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