A lighthearted mystery series based on novels by M.C. Beaton, Agatha Raisin stars Ashley Jensen as a high-powered London public relations professional who leaves her career to live in a small rural town in the Cotswolds. The second series plays out in three feature-length mysteries that aired in 2018-19 on Acorn TV, beginning with “The Wizard of Evesham,” which opens in the wake of Agatha’s disastrous (but never seen) romantic trip to Portugal with James (Jamie Glover) and sends her on a quest to investigate the mystery behind a murdered hair stylist—a lothario who has been blackmailing his clients. In “The Fairies of Fryfam,” Agatha rents a cottage in a local tourist town with the aim of writing a mystery novel but instead ends up investigating a murder that is tangled up with the town’s mysterious magical sightings. Finally, “The Curious Curate” brings crime back home when the new curate is found dead in the home of a close friend. Agatha pretends to get engaged with local ladies’ man Sir Charles (Jason Merrells) as part of her cover, which makes James reconsider his feelings for Agatha. Through it all, Agatha has the enthusiastic (but not always useful) help of her friends. There’s plenty of humor in this series, which follows the usual formula for rural British mystery shows, and Jensen has fun in her role as the often acerbic and colorfully stylish city woman colliding with small-town life. Extras include behind-the-scenes featurettes. Recommended. (S. Axmaker)
Agatha Raisin: Season Two
RLJ, 3 discs, 287 min., not rated, DVD: $39.99
Agatha Raisin: Season Two
Star Ratings
As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
Order From Your Favorite Distributor Today: