Joe Nocera, the host and writer of “The Shrink Next Door” podcast, has set a new, Agatha Christie-themed series with Audible, Variety can confirm.
Produced by transatlantic podcast production company Blanchard House, “Agatha Christie and the Dandelion Poisoner” will see Nocera investigate a real-life murder that inspired Agatha Christie and has gone unexplained for a hundred years.
Speaking to experts across a range of fields, from psychiatry to forensic toxicology, he plots the case against the highs and lows of Christie’s life, including her own mysterious disappearance, mental health issues, romances and marital difficulties, all set against a backdrop of 1920s England.
Among the guests who appear on the show are “Poirot” actor David Suchet, historian Lucy Wolsey and Christie’s great grandson, James Pritchard.
“Agatha Christie and the Dandelion Poisoner” is the first project in Blanchard House’s two-series deal with Audible. It is produced by Poppy Damon (“Murderabilia”) and exec produced by Laurence Grissell (“The Californian Century”).
“We loved the idea that Agatha read about this case in her morning paper!” said Blanchard House co-founder Rosie Pye. “And it’s so interesting to investigate how true crimes like this inspired her much-loved stories. We leave no stone unturned to illuminate both the intriguing murder case, and Agatha herself.”
Nocera said: “This story took me from one end of England to the other on the trail of a most intriguing case. It’s been incredible to come face to face with the people and places that inspired Christie.”
Nocera’s last podcast effort, “The Shrink Next Door,” was adapted into an Apple TV+ limited series by Succession exec producer Georgia Pritchett. It starred Will Ferrell, Paul Rudd and Kathryn Hahn.