Matthew Lewis to lead Acorn TV & Channel 5’s ‘Murder Before Evensong’

Matthew Lewis will star Murder before evensongAcorn TV and the Channel 5 murder mystery drama we told you about last month.

The Harry Potter star will play canon Daniel Clement in the series, based on the first novel in a bestselling book series from Strictly Come Dancing attendee and broadcaster Reverend Richard Coles. Additional casting announcements to follow.

Clement shares his vicarage with his headstrong and fearless widowed mother and two dachshunds. When Daniel announces a controversial plan to install a toilet in the church that divides his town, the cousin of Champton’s patron Bernard de Floures is found dead at the back of the church, stabbed in the neck with a pair of secateurs. The bodies begin to pile up as the police move in, and Daniel is forced to hold his divided community together and catch the killer.

“I am very excited to put on the old dog collar and dive into the world of Champton so charmingly created by the Reverend Richard Coles,” said Lewis. “I have been an admirer of his work for some time and love the characters and stories he has written. It is an honor to work with this creative team and to have the opportunity to bring Canon Clement’s character to life for both fans of the book and new viewers.”

Channel 5 and Acorn have now confirmed our scoop from last month, with the former taking UK rights and the latter launching the show in the US Acorn owner AMC Networks is taking international sales rights elsewhere.

Sky Studios-backed producer The Lighthouse is producing alongside Nick Hicks-Beach (Lewis, Murder in Midsomer) adaptation of the books for TV and David Moore (Fool me once, Outlander) instruction. Filming will begin next year in the West Midlands, UK, with support from the West Midlands Production Fund. Acorn and Channel 5 will launch it later this year.

“I’m very excited about Canon Clement and his gang being turned for television by the brilliant team at The Lighthouse and I’m already planning my appearance on a cast list,” Coles said. “Watch out for a creepy archdeacon on a sit-and-beg bicycle.”

Coles is an executive producer alongside The Lighthouse’s Radford Neville, Acorn TV/Acorn Media Enterprises’ Catherine Mackin and Don Klees and Channel 5 Commissioning Editor for Drama Paul Testar.

Mackin, CEO of Acorn Media Enterprises, added: “Richard’s brilliantly layered storytelling, offering surprise and delight around every corner, is the exact crime-focused fare that Acorn TV’s intellectually curious audience craves. Matthew’s embodiment of canon Daniel promises a bold and compelling adaptation that we can’t wait to see.We’re delighted to be working with Richard, Nick, David, Matthew and our partners at The Lighthouse and Channel 5 to bring this highly acclaimed bestseller for the small screen.”