Death Comes to Pemberley: The BBC Does It Right

While American TV shuts down for the holidays, British TV is positively bursting with Christmas specials and miniseries. If you're all caught up on the latest episodes of your favorite UK series, I have a little gem of a recommendation for you: Death Comes to Pemberley. This three-episode BBC adaptation of P.D. James' 2011 novel is a cozy way to spend three hours, watching the characters from Pride & Prejudice trying to solve a murder.

First off, let's be very clear that this is not high art. Death Comes to Pemberley is essentially a piece of fan fiction, albeit written by a very well-respected author. The murder mystery is nothing more than a plot device designed to get all these characters under one roof again, and as such, don't expect this adaptation to blow your mind with impressive mystery-solving and detection. (Watch Sherlock for that.) But do watch it to see yet another incarnation of Fitzwilliam Darcy and Elizabeth Bennett. The famous literary couple are played by Matthew Rhys and Anna Maxwell Martin, an utterly charming pair who are having a grand time playing out this fairy-tale romance. It's Pride & Prejudice after "The End" and it's tantalizing to behold how their relationship has evolved six years after their tempestuous courtship.

Aside from the main couple of interest, we have the return of George and Lydia Wickham. Jenna Coleman perfectly captures Lydia's clueless hysteria, establishing that this woman is well on her way to emulating her equally hysterical mother (played by the wonderful Rebecca Front). And Matthew Goode imbues Wickham with all the twinkly-eyed roguish charm that the character demands. Here's a man who is clearly up to no good, yet surely he wouldn't commit a murder? Rounding out the cast is Eleanor Tomlinson, who plays Georgiana Darcy and is facing a mini-Pride & Prejudice dilemma of her own when it comes to choosing between a young lawyer named Henry Alveston (James Norton) or her cousin, Colonel Fitzwilliam (Tom Ward). One way lies love, the other points to duty - how quintessentially Victorian.

Because this adaptation is only three episodes long, Juliette Towhidi's script effectively condenses the plot (not that there was much to begin with) and weaves in plenty of humor and in-jokes that will delight Austen fans. The production design is superb as always, and Chatsworth House, the stately home that represented Pemberley in the 2005 movie, again features as the Darcys' magnificent abode. All told, Death Comes to Pemberley features a sterling cast, entertaining script, and beautiful production values, and it is a deliciously diverting piece of holiday television.