Phyllis Logan's 'The Puzzle Lady' Teases a Tipsy Miss Marple

Of all the new series* coming to PBS in the 2025-2026 TV season, there are two I am looking forward to more than most. Bookish, the Mark Gatiss LGBTQ+ 1940s-set series from UKTV and Alibi, and The Puzzle Lady, which gives Phyllis Logan her overdue starring role as a Miss Marple for our era. The former has already been renewed for Season 2 and aired in the U.K., the latter looks well on its way to following suit with a laugh-out-loud teaser and first images that promise this is about as far away from Downton Abbey's Mrs. Hughes as Logan could get.

(*The Gold is technically not new, since it premiered on Paramount+ in 2023, though, since no one watched it, for most viewers, it probably will be.)

Based on the best-selling series of novels by the late Parnell Hall, The Puzzle Lady has been likened to "Miss Marple on steroids" or "Jessica Fletcher meets Groucho Marx," although the trailer suggests it might be more accurate to say "Miss Marple on One Too Many Pints." Logan stars as the novel's titular sleuth, "Puzzle Lady" Cora Felton, a nationally syndicated crossword puzzle maker. Except Cora isn't the genius behind the puzzles — she's a front for the real brains of the family, her niece, Sherry Carter, played by Charlotte Hope (The Spanish Princess).