''Queens of Mystery'' is a British

comedy-drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

murder-mystery Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a professional detective, of a crime, ...

series created by Julian Unthank currently airing on SVOD provider

Acorn TV The acorn, or oaknut, is the nut of the oaks and their close relatives (genera ''Quercus'' and '' Lithocarpus'', in the family Fagaceae). It usually contains one seed (occasionally two seeds), enclosed in a tough, leathery shell, and borne ...

, starring

Julie Graham Julie Graham (born 24 July 1965) is a Scottish television and film actress. Career Graham has appeared in the Channel 4 ''Blood Red Roses'' (1986, filmed in East Kilbride). She also appeared in 1986 in an episode of ''Taggart'', “Death Call� ...

(Cat Stone),

Siobhan Redmond Siobhan Redmond, ( ; born 27 July 1959) is a Scottish actress, a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, and known for various stage, audio and television roles. Early life Siobhan Redmond was born on 27 July 1959 in the Tollcross area of ...

(Jane Stone), Olivia Vinall (Matilda Stone-Series 1), Florence Hall (Matilda Stone-Series 2), and

Sarah Woodward Sarah Woodward (born 3 April 1963) is a British actress. She won the Olivier Award for best performance in a supporting role in 1998 for her role in ''Tom & Clem'' by Stephen Churchett., directed by Richard Wilson, and was nominated for a Tony ...

(Beth Stone). In the first series, Vinall stars as Matilda Stone, a young detective who has been assigned to the

constabulary Constabulary may have several definitions: *A civil, non-paramilitary (police) force consisting of police officers called constables. This is the usual definition in the United Kingdom, in which all county police forces once bore the title (and som ...

in her fictional hometown village of Wildemarsh,

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, where she is reunited with her three crime-writing aunts Cat, Beth, and Jane, played by Graham, Woodward, and Redmond. Florence Hall took over the role of Matilda Stone in Series 2. ''Queens of Mystery'' is Acorn TV's second entirely original production. The first series was released in 2019 and comprises three separate stories, each split across two 45-minute episodes. ''Queens of Mystery'' was renewed for a second series in March 2021, which premiered on 29 November 2021.

Cast

Guest stars

Episodes

Series overview

Series 1 (2019)

Series 2 (2021)

Home Media

Production

Julie Graham was attracted to the script's portrayal of older women, explaining that "Cat, Jane, and Beth... are all in their fifties... it was a joy to see scenes about authentic females in a family. It's unusual and it's important and of this moment", while Olivia Vinall said the series "feels really truthful

bout Bout can mean: People *Viktor Bout, suspected arms dealer *Jan Everts Bout, early settler to New Netherland *Marcel Bout Musical instruments * The outward-facing round parts of the body shape of violins, guitars, and other stringed instrumen ...

the way the women behave." Graham also called ''Queens of Mystery'' "very tongue-in-cheek and cartoonish." Filming for the first season took place in

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, specifically in Stone Street in Cranbrook. Production used

Lympne Castle Lympne Castle is a medieval castle located in the village of Lympne, Kent, above Romney Marsh. After the Reformation, the castle was sometimes referred to as Court Lodge. Lympne Castle is a Grade I listed property, described as a fortified manor h ...

as Hiddledean Castle in the fictional town of Wildemarsh in the Murder In The Dark episode. The series visited several locations in

Farningham Farningham is a village and civil parish in the Sevenoaks District of Kent, England. It is located south-east of Swanley. It has a population of 1,314. History Farningham is believed to be home to Neolithic history – flint and other tools ha ...

, Beth’s cottage was filmed at Mill Estate. Wadard Books doubled as the Murder Ink bookshop and Jane’s house. Farningham Village Store also featured as Wildemarsh Village stores and the Entrance to The Corn Exchange Theatre. In the Death By Vinyl episode Stoneydale craft shop in Cranbrook was converted into The Sound and Fury record shop. Cranbrook also features as the High street throughout the series. St Michael's Churchyard in

Smarden Smarden is a civil parish and village, west of Ashford in Kent, South East England. The village has the Anglican parish church of St Michael the Archangel which, because of its high scissor beam roof, is sometimes known as ''"The Barn of Kent"''. ...

was used as the Wildemarsh churchyard and a private residence in Water Lane featured as the village's Embittered Hack Pub. The police station is filmed at the old school building in Benenden, alongside the village green and church in the backdrop.

Critical reception

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' recommended the series due to its "whimsical" tone, noting its "fairy-tale-style omniscient narrator" and comparing it favorably with ''

Pushing Daisies ''Pushing Daisies'' is an American comedy-drama television series created by Bryan Fuller that aired on ABC from October 3, 2007, to June 13, 2009. The series stars Lee Pace as Ned, a pie-maker with the ability to bring dead things back to life ...

''. Writing for ''

TV Insider TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news. The company sold its print magazine division, TV Guide Magazine LLC, in 2008. Corporate ...

'', Matt Roush found ''Queens of Mystery'' to be in the same vein as ''

Murder, She Wrote ''Murder, She Wrote'' is an American crime drama television series, created by Peter S. Fischer, Richard Levinson and William Link, starring Angela Lansbury, and produced and distributed by Universal Television for the CBS network. The series f ...

'', yet inferior to sibling Acorn TV series ''

Agatha Raisin Agatha Raisin is a fictional detective in a series of humorous mystery novels, originally written by Marion Chesney using the pseudonym M. C. Beaton. Chesney's friend Rod W. Green took over as writer with ''Hot to Trot''. The books are published ...

''.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 8974594, Queens of Mystery 2019 British television series debuts 2010s British comedy-drama television series 2020s British comedy-drama television series 2010s British mystery television series 2020s British mystery television series Cozy mystery television series English-language television shows Television series about sisters Television shows about writers Television shows set in the United Kingdom British detective television series Acorn TV original programming