We might have to wait a while until we get to see the third installment of the hugely popular Hercule Poirot (Kenneth Brannagh) mystery film series in theaters, but that doesn’t mean we won’t get any Agatha Christie adaptations in the meantime. Collider can now tell you exclusively that the streaming platform Topic has announced today that we’re about to witness Agatha Christie’s Hjerson, a series that centers around one of the lesser-known detectives created by the celebrated author.
The trailer for Hjerson brings to life the title character Sven Hjerson, played by Johan Rheborg (HBO Max’s Kamikaze). The detective likes to observe patterns and explore coincidences. The twist in the character from Christie’s universe is that the story has a modern setting, and there’s a meta element to it: Hjerson is invited to solve crimes on television by a TV producer who wants to bet on true crime stories to invigorate her career.
Hjerson will also dabble in a bit of humor, with the sleuth’s personality clashing with the TV producer Klara's (Hanna Alström), whose interest in true crime hails from having witnessed them herself in her youth. Together, they’ll try to build a good cop, bad cop routine. Hjerson also has a distinct personality for a detective: He goes to the barbershop only to hear gossip, is adept to dancing, and likes to swim in freezing cold lakes.
Hjerson, Poirot, and Marple
Agatha Christie’s Hjerson is created for television by Patrik Gyllström. The series creator makes his screenwriting debut after working on the crew of several films and TV shows. Gyllström's choice to select this universe is a landmark in many ways: It’s the first-ever adaptation that hails from Christie’s fictional writer Ariadne Oliver, and it strays away from the common flagship characters we’re used to seeing onscreen – detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. Episodes from Hjerson are directed by Lisa Farzaneh (Agent Hamilton) and Lisa James Larsson (A Royal Secret).
Aside from Rheborg and Alström, the cast of Agatha Christie’s Hjerson also features Maria Lundqvist (Mother of Mine), David Fukamachi Regnfors (Gentlemen & Gangsters), Björn Andrésen (Midsommar), and Peter Kanerva (Colorado Avenue). The series was brought together by Midsommar, and Before We Die producers Fredrik Heinig, Pelle Nilsson and Tintin Scheynius, and Robert Franke.
Topic premieres Agatha Christie’s Hjerson on December 1 with three episodes. The remaining episodes will roll out weekly.
You can watch the exclusive trailer below (with subtitles):
Check out the official synopsis here:
“Agatha Christie’s Hjerson” is a modernization of a classic Agatha Christie character Sven Hjerson, a once renowned criminal profiler who suddenly chose to retire from the spotlight, and Klara Sandberg, a trash TV producer who wants to reset her career with a true crime show that would star him. Hjerson has just been informed of his mother's death and is forced to return to The Åland Islands. Klara manages to track him down and is on the same cruise ship heading to the archipelago. On the ship, a young journalist is murdered. A reluctant Hjerson and a zealous Klara start to solve a string of murder mysteries.