'Moonflower Murders' on PBS

Could someone please identify the hot actor at 1:13 for me? Can't find his name on IMDb and I need it now.

Leslie Manville is always so good.

I'll watch and hope for the best but since the demise of FOYLE'S WAR, everything Anthony Horowitz has written has been very disappointing, including the first MOONFLOWER MURDERS (book and series). Well, the series started out great but really fell apart in its final episodes.

At least these series look to be produced stylishly and expensively and with great casts. Just wish the mysteries were smarter.

[quote]Leslie Manville is always so good.

So is LESLEY Manville.

Actually, though I love Lesley Manville she kinda stunk as Clara Zachanassian in a new Tony Kushner adaptation of THE VISIT a few years ago at the National. Part of her problem is she's just so tiny, she wasn't a very commanding presence onstage. Another problem was Kushner's dreadful adaption, which set the play in the 1950s in the American Rust Belt (why it premiered in London is beyond me).

I just finished the Moonflower Murders audiobook and was glad to see the TV adaptation is out soon.

I enjoyed the book and TV version of Magpie Murders as well. In fact, the TV version arguably works even better, because each actor plays their equivalent character in both 'books'.

The concept is a little contrived, in order to make the 'book within a book' format work, but I think it works well. I really like how the Atticus Pund parts are clearly a nod to Agatha Christie (Poirot in particular). Campy and silly, but fun with it.

Like OP, I clocked Will Tudor is in it. Handsome guy.

I liked the first one. The mystery was just okay (the tell was handled clumsily) but the casting was superb and the intertwining of the book and the current day story was done really well.

I wonder if Will Tudor will ever come out?

R8 I suspect he's one of those people who's out to everyone he knows, but hasn't come out publicly as he's not massively well known. I don't think he's ever had a beard, has he?

r8 Will Tudor is absolutely divinely sexy

I watched this recently. It's not as good as the first one Magpie Murders but with both, I fast-forwarded through the Pund scenes of the past and just watched Lesley's modern scenes. As in Magpie, she gets a giant monologue at the climax.

Could someone please identify the hot actor at 1:13 for me?

Australian actor Wade Briggs.

I also fast forwarded through the scenes with Mathew Beard as the dead author's rentboy boyfriend played as a total cliche. And why was Daniel Mays playing to the backrow? Jeesh.

I’ll give it a go.

R11, I actually think Tim McMullan does a good job playing Atticus Pund. I like Lesley Manville, although her character can be somewhat unlikable sometimes. Yeah, Anthony Horowitz's story isn't as strong as the first one. But I found it interesting that AW put more gay content in this one. I won't say more for anyone reading who hasn't seen it yet.

R10, I think Will Tudor is hot. I admire him for showing off his swinging cock & ass in Game of Thrones. It's too bad that so many actors are still afraid to be officially out.

I liked the first series despite a lot of things that didn't work (she's actually too old for the role; she had zero chemistry with the boring Greek boyfriend; the plot was...contrived. Both of them.)

The second one was just meh.

R8 Will’s boyfriend has started being more open and posting photos of them together. He posted an Instagram story with a load of Polaroids- including one of them kissing.

R17, thanks for the heads up about Will's boyfriend.

I did a search for photos and found this one on LPSG:

I read both (four?) books but cannot say I like them. The format is gimmicky. It's nice to get two books for the price of one, but I found neither the "real" nor the "fictional" story in either book very entertaining. Sure, two books in one, but each just half the fun.

Is this a sequel to Broadway's "Moose Murders"?

Some more pics of Will & the bf:

r18 Excellent. He really is gay and it's not just speculation. I'm delighted 🤩😘

r11 I have just put the Magpie murders on my watch list on BBC Iplayer. I binge watched Moonflower murders this week after seeing an advert for it. I throughly enjoyed it.. I think the lead actress Leslie is phenomenal. r12 Yes Wade Briggs is rather dreamy 😍

I do not care for Ms. Manville.

First became aware of her in some dreary PBS dramedy called "Mum" on PBS. Then she was in World on Fire with that simp Jonah Hauer-King.

Since then she's been everywhere, much to my annoyance.

Perhaps r27, but she made a great harlot.

Just catching up with this thread again and I'm surprised how many of you liked Moonflower less than Magpie. Maybe because I binge watched the sequel on Passport it worked much better for me, I don't know. One thing both series have got is great production values, in both the contemporary and period settings. Everything looks sumptuous and inviting and in the 1950s, the period details are excellent, including the costumes and hair. I love those dresses Lesley wears, very flattering to her petite figure.

As for Will Tudor, for me he looked scrumptious with his bangs as the contemporary character but about as sexy as an earthworm in the 1950s scenes. But both looks worked for their individual characters and I appreciated that.

The rest of the cast:

Did the Greek boyfriend gain a lot of weight between series? If there's a third season, he better diet.

Besides Wade Briggs I also found the doctor (spacing on actor's name) dishy. And the author character who Lesley almost has a fling with was also very sexy. Oddly, he appears in PBS' recent The Marlow Murder Club and looks far less fetching.

Loved the mother and son duo, hilarious in both the past and the present.

Mark Gatiss - can he play anything other than John Gielgud?

I love Daniel Mays (saw him as Nathan Detroit in the brilliant London Guys & Dolls) just doing his thing, also Tim McMullan as Pund, very watchable!

Oh, the poor young Black actress who plays the assistant - I was thinking all along why does she over play everything? I guess I got my answer in the end.

Is there going to be another iteration of this series? Is there another novel?

It’s been sitting on my TiVo unwatched.

Delete soon.

r30 Another novel next year I believe

[quote]r5 = Part of her problem is she's just so tiny, she wasn't a very commanding presence onstage

I'm 5' 0 ".

I first became aware of Lesley in the Mike Leigh films where she played a variety of characters. Another Mike Leigh stock player is Claire Rushbrook who plays Lesley's sister in both Murder series.

Claire and Lesley are also co-stars in "Sherwood," currently on Series/Season 2.

When you watch (or re-watch) those Mike Leigh movies now, you see dozens of lovely UK actors we're now quite familiar with through Britbox, Acorn and Masterpiece Theatre.

It's really marvelous how these wonderful actresses like Lesley, Olivia Colman, Monica Dolan, Samantha Bond, Francesca Annis, Brenda Blethyn, Nicola Walker, Sarah Lancashire, the list goes on and on, are still worshipped and respected in their homeland in their middle and late age and can carry a film or miniseries. Not like the USA.

Speaking of Samantha Bond, that Masterpiece Mystery series The Marlow Mystery Club (or whatever the heck it's called) is a real stinker. No fault of Ms. Bond, she gives it her all.

[quote]r36 = Francesca Annis

She definitely could carry a mini-series.

I like the Horowitz mysteries, these included. He is very clearly inspired by Agatha Chistie, despite all the meta stuff. The difference, however, is than unlike Agatha Christie i can actually guess who the murderer is. In Mayflowers the book i guessed the identy of the murderers in both stories, which is satisfying and disappointing at the same time.

I

[quote] Speaking of Samantha Bond, that Masterpiece Mystery series The Marlow Mystery Club (or whatever the heck it's called) is a real stinker. No fault of Ms. Bond, she gives it her all.

I thought so, too. It had the right sleuth-characters, and all actors did a great job. But the writing did not work at all.

Huge (former) admirer of Anthony Horowitz going back to his superlative FOYLE'S WAR and some other early TV stuff, but all of his latest projects, books and miniseries are disappointingly mediocre. Beautifully produced and well-cast with fun actors but just so poorly written.

I don't think they're helped by being stretched out to 6-8 episodes either (but that could be said about most UK TV mystery). Tighter plotting and fewer extraneous characters (like the sister and her son and that unattractive married couple in Moonflower) would provide more tension. FOYLE's WAR never had those issues.

I think he's kind of hilarious in those post-episode appearances he does for the PBS showings in which he explains to us how clever he thinks he is.

"Marlow Murder Club" was created by the guy behind the long-running "Death In Paradise."

Will Tudor's ass from a gay sex scene in 'Game of Thrones':

R30 R32 Correct. There's another book coming called Marble Hall Murders, which is published in April next year. At the moment, Horowitz is saying it'll be the last Susan Ryeland novel. I get the impression Moonflower Murders was meant to be the last, but he potentially had his arm twisted into doing one more.

I think three will be the limit, as it's surely harder to keep coming up with different reasons to tie a fictional Atticus Pund novel into a modern day 'real life' event that happens to befall Susan.

What I like about the TV version is that it doesn't take itself too seriously. The actors clearly camp up their 1950s performances almost to parody Christie-esque novels or the TV series based on them. I also like that everything slots into place, even if you have to suspend some disbelief.

I do hope Susan Ryeland's frumpy sister and wayward nephew find happiness in the third novel.

I like Susan Ryland, I don't care much about the book-in-a-book concept. I'd be OK with more straight forward Ryland stories in her reality.

Will Tudor can murder my moonflower anytime.

Will bottoming in 'Industry' (2020):

R48 Ah the classic TV/movie depiction of spontaneous anal sex where no preparation or lube (beyond spit) is required and everyone still has a great time!

Anthony Horowitz's writing can become too clever "by half" or "for its own good." I read Magpie Murders and thought it was fun, but it did become difficult to follow (on the page). The TV adaptation helped a great deal, I love the casting of the program. The second adaptation, Moonflower was just freaking convoluted after a while, but he does tie up all the storylines toward the end with Susan's lengthy drawing room scene.

As R41 said, all hail Horowitz for creating Foyle's War. A mostly mmarvelous program which had to pivot a number of times when actors left the cast...

I did enjoy Anthony's Sherlock Holmes story, House of Silk a lot - for me it read like a good old fashioned adventure for the detective and Watson... I didn't care for the follow-up work, Moriarity.

And R41 and others who also believe "in which he explains to us how clever he thinks he is." Horowitz has a series of books where he actually casts himslef as the "reluctant" sidekick/investigator to a somewhat disgraced London police detective. Christ I ead the first one and avaoided the subsequent works.

r50, I'd forgotten that particular book you mention at the end of your post. I agree, it was really bad.

I don't remember any major cast defections, except in that later comeback season after the war. Michael Kitchen, Honeysuckle and Anthony Howell did participate in all the seasons before that one.

r48 I knew I'd seen him somewhere before!, Will Tudor is a great little actor.

R51... I think that Julian Ovendon walked away from the cast unexpectedly, so Foyle's son and Sam's love interest was out. Horowitz had to explain THAT and get Sam a new man. And didn't Anthony Howell (Milner - so good in the early series) leave the cast as well?

Oh, and R51, Anthony has written at least one more book wher he's sidekick to that detective. Ooof.

Will Tudor is also in the latest series of Wolf Hall that's currently being shown on BBC1 and elsewhere in the world no doubt.

r53, you're probably right about Ovenden (though I can't imagine why he'd walk away from that, WHET?) but I'm sure Anthony Howell stuck with the original series to the end. Milner was not in the FOYLE'S re-boot but I think Honeysuckle was, at least in the first episodes. Sadly, for me, the re-boot just didn't work at all, cold war MI5 and all. I have all the boxed sets and rewatch the entire series every few years.

And speaking of WHET, WHET Anthony Howell? Such a sweet sexy man, lovely, serene presence. Can't Horowitz at least put him into the next M Murders season??

I completely agree about the post-war reboot of Foyle... never really worked for me either. Unfortunate, i don't think the show could ever invest in the look of post-war London - they tried.

A Howell... i thought he left Foyle's but I'm wrong... strange. i should go back and watch Foyle's on T'giving - I don't have to be anywhere til mid-afternoon. Howell's Wiki page shows he works, just doesn't seem to be in anything "big."

As for Ovenden, God he was beautiful in Foyle's - he's a big theater actor in London. Look at his Wiki page - annaully he's doing stage work. Impressive.

Ovenden, who had, and I guess still has movie star looks was never gonna be a movie star (think Paul Mescal) and should have stuck with Foyle's War.

Anthony Howell, with all the UK TV I watch constantly - strange how he never turns up in any of it. His recent TV & film credits are for things I've never heard of.

A couple of observations about Anthony Horowitz:

1) In the behind the scenes segments that aired on PBS after the episodes, he admits that he decided to set part of the story on Crete because he has a home there/holidays there. Well, that was not a good enough reason to put Crete in the script -- it comes across as self-serving, not to mention being largely superfluous to the plot.

2) I assume that he watched Game of Thrones and saw Will Tudor's character on there because (SPOILER) there is something about Will's character from GOT that also turns up in one of the characters Will plays in this show. I won't say more for those who haven't seen it yet.