May will now be “Murder Mystery Month,” the Acorn streamer has proclaimed.
Then again, every month is murder-mystery time at Acorn. May provides handy alliteration (March would have also worked) and good timing:
Some mystery shows are wrapping up their seasons now. On CBS, “Matlock” has already finished and “Elsbeth” will do so on May 8.
So Acorn takes that time to load up. Some of its shows have weekly episodes on Mondays — “Murdoch Mysteries” (yes, more alliteration), “The Brokenwood Mysteries” and the new “The One That Got Away” have already started their seasons; “Harry Wild” (shown here) joins them on May 5.
In addition, Acorn has dug out some older or less-known choices. May will have a movie each Friday and a “bingeable” series (all episode available at once) each Monday.
Acorn built an audience with British shows. Its library is bulging with “Doc Martin,” “Dalgliesh,” “Midsomer Murders” and more, including the newere “Chelsea Detective” and “Signora Volpe.”
A roadblock came eight years ago, when the BBC and ITV combined for their own streaming service, Britbox. That left Acorn scrambling for shows.
It has found some in other English-speaking countries. “Murdoch” is Canadian; “Brokenwood” is from New Zealand.
And in other cases, including “Harry Wild,” it has signed on early as one of the show’s producers. The “May mystery” plans include:
WEEKLY SERIES (new episodes each Monday):
— “Murdoch Mysteries” is a perpetual series – in its 18th season – about a Toronto cop early in the 20th century, with a knack for inventions.
— “The Brokenwood Mysteries” has a former big-city cop solving crimes in small-town New Zealand.
— “The One That Got Away” has a cop in small-town Wales, working with her ex-lover to probe a murder that reflects an unsolved one from the past.
— “Harry Wild” has Jane Seymour as Harry, a retired literature professor who becomes a detective, helped by a young colleague who is dating her granddaughter. (Harry’s daughter-in-law was played by Irish star Amy Huberman for three season, but now has been recast.) It starts the season May 5 with two episodes – one helping her son the cop, another (shown here) helping a former wild-living friend who’s now a nun. Then it reverts to one a week.
“BINGEABLE” SERIE (all episodes arriving on a Monday)
— “Safe House,” May 5, came out in 2015, a decade after Christopher Eccleston was the ninth “Doctor Who” star. He plays a former detective, asked to turn his guest house into a safe house. Two four-episode seasons.
— “The Light in the Hall,” May 12, six episodes from 2022.
— “White Lies,” May 19. Natalie Dormer (Anne Boleyn in the “Tudors” series) is an investigative reporter in South Africa. Eight episodes from 2024.
— Also: “The Light in thje Hall” (2022, six episodes) on May 12 and “Boglands” on May 26. Using subtitles, “Light” is in Welsh and English, “Boglands” in Irish and English.
MOVIES (on Fridays)
— “The Dry” (2020) May 2, and its sequel (2024), May 30. Aaron (Eric Bana, the “Hulk” and “Dirty John” star) returns to his drought-stricken home town, opening old wounds in an unsolved death.
— “Cracks” (2009), May 9. Long before her “Ted Lasso” fame, a teen-aged Juno Temple starred with Eva Green and Imogen Poots in a film set in an elite boarding school.
— “Rogue Agent” (2022), May 16. James Norton, the original “Grantchester”
star, plays a career con man, posing as a government agent.
— “Six Minutes to Midnight” (2020), May 23. Just before World War II, an Englishman (Eddie Izzard) probes a boarding school mystery. Judi Dench and Jim Broadbent co-star.