The excellent See How They Run begins with the complaint of genre exhaustion, making the old “who’s the murder?” (whodunit) worn out. Although the story takes place in the 1950s, it could very well be referring to 2022. After all, what we had most were comedies and dramas that revolve around murder and “our” investigation to find the culprit. Here, are my 5 suggestions for the genre:

The White Lotus

The series The White Lotus, by Mike White, did well to only be made available by HBO at the end of 2022: it is the most popular and unanimous content of the year. The first season already featured a crime, but it was the second that put the mystery as the main motivation for us to discover the victim… precisely who we least wanted it to be. Genius, fun, and openly inspired by Agatha Christie. Mandatory on the list.

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery

I’m part of the very few who didn’t enjoy either the first Knives Out or the second. In general, plots inspired by the Queen of Crime demand exaggerations, but chemistry is lacking here and precisely in the detective played by Daniel Craig: Benoit Blanc. Fun, but that’s not all they’re talking about. That said, if you want to check it out, the movie is available on Netflix. Fans consider the sequel better than the original.

The After Party

The most brilliant of all genre revisitation, The After Party is tucked away on Apple TV Plus. It’s hilarious, it’s original, it’s surprising and best of all, it’s the start of a franchise. The crime is recounted in the first person – in each episode – by the witnesses, but one of them is the murderer. If you pay attention, you can spot the inconsistencies in each statement and decipher who killed you, but even if you manage to get it right (like I did) nothing prevents you from embarking wholeheartedly until the end. I’m a big fan of the series, the best of 2022 for me.

See How They Run

The feature openly focused on the universe of Agatha Christie has the challenge of overcoming the limits of time for the author’s tales. Reshoots of Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile, with Kenneth Branagh as Hercule Poirot, do not arouse the same curiosity in the younger generation or bring new elements to those who know the stories. But See How They Run, available on StarPlus, manages to bring surprises to a story that has been running for 70 years in London, The Mousetrap.

The play’s story is inspired by true events and the script uses real people – Richard Attenborough, Agatha Christie, and others – to play with metalanguage and nudge imitators. Extremely fun and smart, superior to Glass Onion, a pearl of 2022.

Only Murders in the Building

Another sensational series that is on Starplus, Only Murders in the Building is at its core “who’s the murder”, with twists and revelations. They update the current obsession with true crimes and the hype of the thriller classics. It is nothing short of genius, also with scripts of extreme intelligence and innovation. It could never be off the list.

And of course, it’s worth mentioning that Enola Holmes, also from Netflix, also uses the genre, so check it out if you still have time!

Take the opportunity to exercise the gray cells!