The best-selling author of all time and the Queen of crime fiction, Agatha Christie wrote more than sixty detective novels during her lifetime, featuring memorable characters like Hercule Poirot, Tommy and Tuppence Beresford, and Miss Marple; even a thinly veiled caricature of herself, a mystery novelist named Ariadne Oliver, appeared on occasion.
Her work has spawned a boatload of commercial adaptations, including quite a few TV shows - all of which are listed here, ranked according to their IMDb user score.
The Pale Horse (2020) - 6.1
BBC has made a lot of Agatha Christie miniseries over the past few years, and The Pale Horse is the most recent - and, according to IMDb users, the worst. The plot focuses on antique dealer Mark Easterbrook, who finds himself caught up in a complicated murder plot where all the victims seem to have died of natural causes.
Fans of the book it was based on weren't exactly happy with the changes made, which can help explain the relatively low IMDb rating of 6.1; outside of that, the series received mixed reviews, often directed either positively or negatively at its suspense and thrills.
Partners In Crime (2015) - 6.4
A six-episode drama series based on the Christie novels The Secret Adversary and N or M?, BBC One's Partners In Crime follows Tommy and Tuppence Beresford, whose chance encounter with a missing woman leads to them becoming quasi-secret-agents.
The series received mixed reviews, with praise directed at the visuals and characters but criticism directed at the casting and plot; it received a 6.4 user rating on IMDb.
The ABC Murders (2018) - 6.6
Starring John Malkovich as the eccentric Belgian detective Hercule Poirot, BBC One's The ABC Murders is a darker take on the classic novel by Agatha Christie, which finds Poirot having to hunt down an elusive killer who murders his victims in alphabetical order.
Despite only receiving a 6.6 rating on IMDb, the series received mostly positive reviews from critics; many praised Malkovich's performance and the addition of a backstory for Poirot.
Agatha Christie's Great Detectives Poirot & Marple (2004-2005) - 7.0
Agatha Christie's Great Detectives Poirot and Marple is a mystery anime series that ties its two (previously unaffiliated) namesakes together through Mabel West, Poirot's energetic assistant and Marple's great-niece.
Other than this, it really doesn't change the classic Christie stories much, adapting classics like "Death in the Clouds" or "The ABC Murders" with relative faithfulness. It currently holds a solid 7.0 user rating on IMDb.
The Witness For The Prosecution (2016) - 7.0
Sarah Phelps' BBC One miniseries The Witness For The Prosecution is based on one of Christie's most famous short stories, following Leonard Vole, a married man who is accused of murdering his lover, an older woman.
His predicament only gets worse when his wife decides to testify - as a witness for the prosecution. The series received mostly positive reviews for its casting, script, tone, and ending; on IMDb, it has a 7.0 rating.
Ordeal By Innocence (2018) - 7.3
The BBC One drama series Ordeal By Innocence follows the residents of a house where a wealthy heiress was found murdered, as their world is shaken by the revelation that the man tried for the murder was innocent all along.
It received positive reviews for its layered storyline, atmosphere, and characters, though it was met with some criticism for its changes to the book's plot and its confusing "time jumps". It currently stands at a 7.3 rating on IMDb.
Agatha Christie's Partners In Crime (1983-1984) - 7.5
Based on Christie's similarly-titled short story collection, the short-running television series Agatha Christie's Partners In Crime follows Tommy and Tuppence Beresford, a husband-and-wife mystery-solving duo who open a London detective agency.
Reviews for the series were widely mixed, though it has a pretty good 7.5 rating on IMDb.
Les Petits Meurtres d'Agatha Christie (2006-) - 7.6
The fun, frenetic French-language television series Les Petits Meurtres d'Agatha Christie follows Superintendent Larosière, a masterful detective whose character blends elements from many of Christie's finest heroes.
The series has adapted thirty-six of Christie's mysteries during its fourteen-year-run, and it has a 7.6 user rating on IMDb.
Agatha Christie's Marple (2004-2013) - 7.8
ITV wasn't content with adapting all the Poirot novels for television; they had to take on Marple, as well. Their long-running series Agatha Christie's Marple adapted all twelve of the Miss Marple novels as well as several short stories and a few Christie novels that didn't even include Marple in the first place, such as Towards Zero and The Pale Horse.
While it attracted controversy for the (sometimes heavy) changes it made to its source material, the series was widely praised and remains a staple of mystery television; it has a 7.8 rating on IMDb.
Miss Ma, Nemesis (2018) - 7.9
The South Korean drama series Miss Ma, Nemesis presents a modernized take on Christie's classic Miss Marple novels, especially Nemesis. It follows Ma Ji-won, a writer of detective fiction who escapes from prison nine years after being wrongfully convicted of her daughter's murder.
She takes on the alias "Miss Ma" and settles in a small village where, while searching for clues to bring her closer to her daughter's real killer, she solves local crimes in her spare time. The series currently holds a 7.9 IMDb rating.
And Then There Were None (2015) - 8.0
The first of Sarah Phelps' many Christie adaptations for BBC One and quite possibly the best, the gleefully dark and twisted And Then There Were None follows ten people trapped on an inescapable island, as each is killed one by one by an unseen foe.
It received positive reviews for its tone, characters, cinematography, and handling of the source material, and is widely credited with reinvigorating worldwide interest in Christie's works; it currently has a user rating of 8.0 on IMDb.
Agatha Christie's Poirot (1989-2013) - 8.6
The ultimate Agatha Christie adaptation, at least for die-hard fans, is ITV's Agatha Christie's Poirot starring David Suchet, which ran for twenty-four years between 1989 and 2013 - adapting every single major Poirot mystery (excepting the stage play Black Coffee) over its seventy episodes and concluding, appropriately, with Curtain.
It received universal acclaim from critics for its writing, tone, casting, and atmosphere, and currently holds an outstanding 8.6 user rating on IMDb. Suchet's performance as Poirot was especially praised, with Christie's grandson Mathew Prichard remarking he was "visually ... the most convincing."