Agatha and the Curse of Ishtar (2019) – The second installment in Channel 5's acclaimed series of fictional mysteries starring crime novelist Agatha Christie as the detective . Set in 1928, two years after her famous disappearance, a newly divorced and reinvigorated Agatha Christie (Lyndsey Marshal) travels to Baghdad to visit the archaeological dig site of renowned British archaeologist Sir Leonard Woolley . Seeking a respite from her troubled past, she instead finds herself at the center of a web of murder and intrigue. When a team member is found dead at the dig and another is murdered at a glamorous party in Baghdad, Agatha suspects the deaths are connected to the ancient curse of Ishtar—or a far more modern conspiracy. With the help of a dashing young archaeologist, Max Mallowan (Jonah Hauer-King)—the man she would later marry in real life—she must uncover the truth before the killer strikes again.
🔹 Starring: Lyndsey Marshal (Rome, Garrow's Law), Jonah Hauer-King (Little Women, The Little Mermaid), Katherine Kingsley, Stanley Townsend, Rory Fleck Byrne, Waleed Akhtar, Jack Deam, Crystal Condie
🔹 Director: Sam Yates
🔹 Writer: Tom Dalton
🔹 Genre: Crime, Mystery, Drama, Alternative History
🔹 Network: Channel 5 (UK)
🔹 Production Companies: Darlow Smithson Productions, Factual Fiction
🔹 Release Date: December 15, 2019 (UK)
🔹 Runtime: 90 minutes
🔹 Filmed: Malta (standing in for Iraq) and the UK
🔹 Historical Context: Agatha Christie accompanied her second husband, archaeologist Max Mallowan, on many digs across the Middle East. This experience inspired several of her novels, including Murder in Mesopotamia.
💬 Why Watch?
✓ The introduction of the real-life romance between Agatha Christie and archaeologist Max Mallowan, who would become her second husband.
✓ A lush, exotic setting that evokes the glamour and danger of 1920s Mesopotamia.
✓ A clever blend of ancient curse mythology and modern murder mystery.
✓ Lyndsey Marshal brings a different but equally compelling energy to Agatha, capturing her resilience and sharp intellect.
✓ The second film in the trilogy, following Agatha and the Truth of Murder (2018) and preceding Agatha and the Midnight Murders (2020).
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