Disney to Adapt CJ Sansom's Tudor England-Set Shardlake Mysteries

There are very few shows where historical period dramas and police procedural mysteries crossover. The lack of shows that meet the criteria of both fandoms is why Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries was so popular and why Miss Scarlet & The Duke is currently such a massive hit for PBS because they are part of the few where the mystery of the week meets the period drama and makes it work. But the latter's success has not gone unnoticed, and All3Media's The Forge is forging ahead with an adaptation of another series that blends the two flavors so well, CJ Sansom's Shardlake novels, with Disney reportedly signing on to stream it.

Sansom, who holds a doctorate in history, was a solicitor for decades until his writing found success with the first of his Matthew Shardlake series, Dissolution, published in 2003. Set during the reign of Henry VIII in the 16th century, these historical mystery novels star a hunchbacked lawyer Matthew Shardlake, whose first case is commissioned by Henry's chief minister, Thomas Cromwell. Shardlake has several assistants, starting with Mark Poer, in the first book, along with Guy Malton. Jack Barak arrives with the second novel Dark Fire, and more recently, Nicholas Overton, who shows up in the sixth novel, 2014's Lamentation.

Each book jumps ahead a few years; over time, Shardlake's commissioners go from Cromwell to Archbishop Thomas Cranmer, Queen Catherine Parr, and Princess Elizabeth. With the seventh installment, Tombland, set in 1549, the series officially exited the Henry VIII years and are functioning through the turbulent years. The next novel, Ratcliff, is due out in 2023 and will be set in 1552, just before Edward VI passes, and Sansom has said he plans further adventures post-1558 and Queen Elizabeth I's reign. In short, should the first season be successful, there's a whole lot of ground for this series to cover.