This Is Not a Murder Mystery

This Is Not a Murder Mystery
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Screenplay byChristophe Dirickx
Matthias Lebeer
Paul Baeten
Directed byHans Herbots
Matthias Lebeer
Starring
  • Pierre Gervais
  • Iñaki Mur
  • Florence Hall
  • Frank Bourke
  • Mike Hoffmann
Music byJustine Bourgeus
Hannes De Maeyer
Country of originBelgium
Original languageEnglish
No. of series1
Production
ProducersKato Maes
Kristoffel Mertens
Production companies
  • Panenka
  • Deadpan Pictures
Original release
NetworkVRT 1
Release26 October 2025 (2025-10-26)

This Is Not a Murder Mystery is a Belgian English-language murder mystery television series, set in England during the 1930s with an ensemble cast featuring Pierre Gervais, Iñaki Mur, Florence Hall, Frank Bourke and Mike Hoffmann.

Premise

Set on a lavish country estate in England during the 1930s, a collection of famous artists find themselves trapped in the midst of a serial killer.[1]

Cast

Production

Development

The series is produced by Panenka in co-production with Deadpan Pictures and distributed by Studiocanal. The six-part series is directed by Hans Herbots and is based on an original idea by Christophe Dirickx and Matthias Lebeer and written and created by Dirickx and Paul Baeten with Lebeer as the co-director of episodes 3 and 4. The title is based on the "This is not a pipe" wording below the René Magritte 1929 picture The Treachery of Images.[2][3] The series has Kato Maes and Kristoffel Mertens as producers, and was initially pitched at the 2022 Co-Pro Series event, part of the Berlin Film Festival. It was filmed in Ireland and Belgium in 2024, mostly in the English-language. First look images from the set were released in November 2024.[1][4]

Casting

The cast includes Pierre Gervais, Iñaki Mur, Florence Hall, Frank Bourke and Mike Hoffmann, but the director Herbots was quoted by Variety as saying that they chose "newcomers instead of established actors" because they did not want "famous faces drawing attention away from the characters…The show is a real ensemble piece, and I thought it was very important to find personalities that match but were also able to create conflict. We managed to get a really interesting ensemble".[2] The cast also includes Stephen Tompkinson, Geert Van Rampelberg, Regina Bikkinina, Oscar Högströn, Lauren Versnick, Donna Banya, Jonathan Delaney Tynan and Mathilde Warnier.[3][1]

References

  1. ^ a b c Clarke, Stewart (24 March 2025). "'The Serpent' Director Hans Herbots On 'This Is Not A Murder Mystery', A Whodunnit Series Featuring René Magritte & Salvador Dalí". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 13 October 2025.
  2. ^ a b Sales Ross, Rafa (10 October 2025). "Studiocanal's Whodunit 'This Is Not a Murder Mystery' Kicks Off Multi-Country New8 Pact". Variety. Retrieved 13 October 2025.
  3. ^ a b Whittock, Jesse (9 October 2025). "'This Is Not A Murder Mystery': Everyone's A Suspect In Trailer For Euro Whodunit Series". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 13 October 2025.
  4. ^ "Discover the first images from new fiction series "This is not a murder mystery"". vrtinternational.com. 26 November 2024. Retrieved 13 October 2025.