Alicia Vikander to produce new TV series based on Dial M for Murder play

Alicia Vikander will bring the hit murder mystery thriller Dial M for Murder to the screen once more in a new multi-episode format.

Best known for being transformed into an Alfred Hitchcock suspense film, Dial M for Murder started life on stage, penned by Frederick Knott. It played both in the West End and on Broadway after a 1952 BBC television premiere, ahead of its 1954 Hitchcock silver-screen iteration.

Following the shady interactions between a married couple (with a former tennis pro husband intent on killing his wandering wife), the stage play toured before the pandemic (with a cast led by Tom Chambers), and is set to return to UK stages in 2021.

Oscar winner Vikander (Ex Machina) will executively produce the new series, which will place greater emphasis on the female point-of-view (something largely missing from Knott's original) and may star in the series.

According to Deadline, Michael Mitnick (The Giver) is creating and writing the series with Boardwalk Empire creator Terence Winter as showrunner.

The show may spark subsequent series created in an "anthology" style (similar to Fargo or American Horror Story) with similar suspense themes.

A release date has not been revealed, though you can catch the show on stage in 2021, with tickets on sale below.