Agatha Christie’s Seven Dials review: A wicked turn on an Agatha Christie murder mystery ruins the fun!

Netflix’s adaptation of Agatha Christie’s The Seven Dials is, at best, a passable casual watch and at worst, a careless reworking that struggles to hold attention. 

In recent years, thanks to OTT platforms, thrillers and murder mysteries have become easy comfort watches. Almost like an everyday meal you don’t have to think too much about. And it makes sense. There’s something universally satisfying about trying to solve a suspicious murder. But the problem with familiarity is that it can quickly turn into boredom. When a mystery isn’t gripping or carefully built, it starts to feel like eating the same food every day that is filling but lacks any real flavour. Netflix’s The Seven Dials feels like exactly that.

Based on Agatha Christie’s novel The Seven Dials Mystery, the three-episode miniseries follows Lady Eileen “Bundle” Brent (Mia McKenna-Bruce), a 1920s socialite aristocrat whose curiosity is piqued by the mysterious death of her friend and beau Gerry Wade (Corey Mylchreest). What begins as a personal investigation soon opens the door to a shadowy world of secret societies, political conspiracies and illegal weapon deals that stretch far beyond drawing rooms and weekend parties.

The series initially seduces you with its familiar charms of cliches with verbose dialogue-heavy scenes where much of the plot unfolds, a stylised period Britain that feels almost like Downtown Abbey, and a setting populated with palace-like homes, balls, servants, and shooting that forms for social outing. Add to that an ensemble cast featuring Helena Bonham Carter and Martin Freeman, and expectations rise sky high. You begin to hope for an Agatha Christie adaptation that might be as playful and salacious as BBC’s Sherlock once was. But that promise never quite materialises.

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To its credit, Chris Chibnall’s adaptation takes a different approach. There’s no towering genius detective presiding over the narrative. Instead, the story centres on Bundle, a curious, defiant young woman whose amateur detective skills could have allowed the show to take a relatable and satirical route through the genre. On paper, that’s an exciting choice. In execution, however, the series fumbles that opportunity. Bundle often comes across as more childish than intuitive. As if Nancy Drew was placed in Christie's deep dark mystery world! She struggles to crack codes and connect dots that a seasoned, murder-mystery-literate audience can solve far quicker. In an era where people are well-versed in genre conventions knowing that things are rarely what they seem, the show underestimates its audience. And as asssumptions harden into conclusions too quickly, it leaves little room for genuine suspense or surprise.

While Christie’s original novel itself is a lighter, more playful entry in her murder mystery universe, something meant to be enjoyed rather than intellectually wrestled with, the show’s approach feels oddly caught between tones. It aims to be breezy and second-screen friendly, but often slips into being unconvincing, with moments of tension undercut by an over-prioritisation of wittiness. There’s a fine line between light-hearted fun and diluted stakes, one that this show seems not to understand. 

Hence for people unfamiliar with the book, the series functions as a casual return to the murder-mystery table, something pleasant enough, but offering little. For those who know Christie’s work, it risks becoming yet another addition to the growing list of adaptations that feel better left on the page. In the end, Agatha Christie's Seven Dials is watchable but instantly forgettable. And in a genre built on intrigue, that may be its biggest crime!

Agatha Christie's Seven Dials is currently streaming on Netflix!