Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries is an Australian detective comedy drama television series. It was first broadcast on ABC on 24 February 2012. It is based on author Kerry Greenwood's historical mystery novels, and it was created by Deb Cox and Fiona Eagger. The series revolves around the personal and professional life of Phryne Fisher (Essie Davis), a glamorous private detective in 1920s Melbourne. Three series have been broadcast, and a feature film titled Miss Fisher and the Crypt of Tears was released in February 2020. A television spin-off Ms Fisher's Modern Murder Mysteries was broadcast in 2019. Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries has been aired in over 100 countries and territories.
Plot and series Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries revolves around the personal and professional life of Phryne Fisher (Essie Davis), a glamorous private detective in late 1920s Melbourne. In the first series, a running theme is the kidnapping and death of Phryne's younger sister Janey when they were children watching a circus, a crime that still haunts Phryne, who feels she should have done more to protect her sister.
The first thirteen-part series was filmed over a six-month period in and around Melbourne from July 2011, and each episode had a budget of A$1 million. The drama has been bought by broadcasters in 120 countries and territories worldwide. A second series was commissioned in August 2012, and filming began in February 2013. The series began airing from 6 September 2013 and concluded with a Christmas special on 22 December 2013. A third series was commissioned in June 2014 and began airing on 8 May 2015.
Cast and characters
Main Essie Davis as The Honourable Phryne Fisher, an independent, glamorous private detective, determined to solve any crime Nathan Page as Detective Inspector John 'Jack' Robinson, a police detective who works reluctantly with Miss Fisher Ashleigh Cummings as Dorothy 'Dot' Williams, Miss Fisher's paid companion, a devout Catholic in a relationship with Hugh Collins, who she marries late in series 3 Hugo Johnstone-Burt as Constable Hugh Collins, Inspector Robinson's right-hand man and Dot's boyfriend, later husband Richard Bligh as Mr. Tobias Butler, Miss Fisher's loyal butler, and veteran of the Australian Imperial Force
Recurring Travis McMahon as Bert Johnson, ex-AIF veteran and a working-class devout communist who often assists in Miss Fisher's investigations Anthony Sharpe as Cecil 'Cec' Yates, ex-AIF, friend of Bert and working-class devout communist who often assists in Miss Fisher's investigations Tammy MacIntosh as Dr. Elizabeth 'Mac' Macmillan, Miss Fisher's close friend, doctor at a women's hospital in Melbourne, and a lesbian who sports fashionable menswear Miriam Margolyes as Prudence Elizabeth Stanley, Miss Fisher's aunt and a reputation-conscious society matron Ruby Rees-Wemyss as Jane Ross, Miss Fisher's ward who shares the same first name of Phryne's deceased sister, 'Janey' (seasons 1, 2) Nicholas Bell as Murdoch Foyle, a former university lecturer imprisoned after the disappearance of Miss Fisher's sister Jane (season 1) Pip Miller as The Baron of Richmond (Henry George Fisher), Phryne's father (season 3)
Guests Actor Role Ep. count Aaron Jeffery Samson 1 Andrea Demetriades Beatrice Mason 1 Andrew Blackman Roderick Gaskin 1 Anna McGahan Miss Proust 1 Arianwen Parkes-Lockwood Harriet Edwards 1 Brett Swain Arthur Briggs 1 Caroline Brazier Hetty 1 Craig Hall Jefferson Clarke 1 Dan O'Connor Vince Barlow 1 Dan Spielman Dr Harcourt 1 David Berry Alastair 1 Dee Smart Rosie Sanderson 3 Diana Glenn Mary Maddison / Velma 1 Ella Scott Lynch Angela Lombard 1 Geoff Morrell Bob Ryan 1 Greg Stone Mr Sheridan 1 Heather Mitchell Madame Fleuri 1 Jacek Koman Mr Merton 1 Jack Finsterer Peter the Painter 1 Jane Allsop Delores 1 Jane Harber Clara Whiting 1 John Brumpton Finlay Ellis 1 John McTernan Larry Dunn 1 Jonny Pasvolsky Warwick Hamilton 1 Julia Blake Hilly McNaster 1 Julie Forsyth Mrs Bolkonsky 1 Kaiya Jones Poppy 1 Kate Jenkinson Isabella 1 Laura Gordon Jemima 1 Laura Wheelwright Alice 2 Lewis Fitz-Gerald Professor Bradbury 1 Maeve Dermody Eunice Henderson 1 Maria Mercedes Madame Breda 1 Mark Coles Smith Tom Derrimutt 1 Martin Copping Constable Young 2 Miranda Otto Lydia Andrews 1 Nell Feeney Hilda Cobb 1 Nicholas Hope Geoffrey Spall 1 Nick Carrafa Pierre Sarcelle 1 Penne Hackforth-Jones Reverend Mother 1 Philip Quast Dr Hayden Samuels 1 Renai Caruso Mrs Waddington 1 Robert Mammone Guido Lupinacci 1 Rohan Nichol Vic Freeman 1 Roz Hammond Mrs Opie 1 Shareena Clanton Lena 1 Terry Norris Franklin D Weston 1 Toby Schmitz Charles Freeman 1 Tony Rickards Sergeant Baxter 1 Wendy Hughes Adele Freeman 1
Production Background Head writer and producer of the series, Deb Cox, has said that she and Fiona Eagger were looking to adapt a crime novel for television and believed the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) were looking for a prime-time crime series for their network. The producers were disappointed by what they initially found and Cox explained: "It takes so long to raise the finance and script and produce a television series, so you need to feel it's worthwhile—both financially and philosophically. It was hard to find a reason to bring stories about psychotic killers and serial murderers to the screen." Cox and Eagger then came across Kerry Greenwood's Phryne Fisher murder mystery series and were drawn to them because of their diverse fan base.
Eagger said that they were curious to discover what made the series appeal to all generations. Eagger told a writer for IF Magazine, "We were a bit curious to know what it was about it that could appeal to a 16-year-old and a 70-year-old. Phryne is one of the first feminists. She chooses to live alone, she chooses not to get married. She's got many lovers. She's a bit of a James Bond action hero—she's much better dressed than James Bond though." Cox and Eagger realised that the novels reflected their moral values and fit in with their style of storytelling, so they began adapting them.
Cox and Eagger initially thought adapting novels would be easier than writing an original screenplay, but soon discovered that it was not. Speaking to Andrew Wrathall from Fancygoods.com.au, Cox stated, "It takes a whole new set of skills to preserve what's most important in the stories, rationalise the impossible, gather what's left into a cohesive whole and still reflect the boundless worlds of imagination encouraged in the readers' minds by a few hundred words on paper—in a way that's achievable in production terms!" She added that the restrictions tested their limits of creativity and inventiveness. Greenwood was invited to the first brainstorming session for the series and provided the producers with answers to their questions, and helped with the historical background to the novels. The author would read the scripts and help make corrections. Cox praised Greenwood's ability to write for the screen and accept the changes they made to the novels.
In June 2011, it was announced that the ABC had commissioned a thirteen-part series to air on their ABC1 channel the following year. The drama was originally titled The Phryne Fisher Murder Mystery Series, but was changed on the advice of distributor All3Media, who wanted to avoid having to tell international broadcasters how to pronounce Phryne's name.
Series 1 The first series was filmed over a six-month period in and around Melbourne from July 2011. Greenwood had researched the history of the city "meticulously" for the novels, so the producers were keen to do the same. While they used some real locations, others were recreated, including a Turkish bathhouse and the Eastern Market. The interior of Phryne's house was built on a sound stage at the ABC's studio in Elsternwick. The historic house Wardlow in Parkville, Victoria was used as the exterior to the house. A number of National Trust houses provide settings including Rippon Lea Estate at Elsternwick, Labassa at Caulfield North and Como House in South Yarra. Each episode had a budget of $1 million. Eagger said "I wanted every cent on screen. I wanted the steam train, I wanted the plane, I wanted the ocean liner and the Hispano-Suiza. It stretched everyone, it really made people bleed." ABC TV, Film Victoria, Screen Australia and distributor All3Media funded the series.
Series 2 The second series was approved for Screen Australia funding in July 2012. Filming began on 18 February 2013 in Melbourne. The shoot wrapped on 9 August.
On 6 August 2012, Michael Idato from The Sydney Morning Herald said that the ABC had commissioned a second series of Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries. Idato reported the second series would go into production later in the year. ABC's Head of Fiction, Carole Sklan, stated "ABC TV is delighted to be bringing a second series of Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries to the screen. The first series proved an instant hit with viewers and Every Cloud Productions has again assembled a stellar cast and team for 13 more exciting, intriguing, and unpredictable mystery stories."
The second series is based on Greenwood's novels Dead Man's Chest, Unnatural Habits and various short stories. Cox commented that she and Eagger were "thrilled" that many of the cast and crew from the first series were returning. The second series premiered on 6 September 2013.
Series 3 In February 2014, ABC TV channel controller Brendan Dahill told David Knox from TV Tonight that a third series of Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries had yet to be commissioned. Dahill explainedThe position we are in is an embarrassment of riches—tons of successful series and at some point Carole (Sklan, Head of Fiction) and I need to sit down and work out how many of the successful shows we can afford to return, without standing still, and still doing new stuff. Woven into that we obviously need to know how much money we think we're going to have.Knox added that there were fears funds to the broadcaster could be cut. Colin Vickery, writing for news.com.au, reported that another reason Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries had not been green-lit for a third series was due to ABC wanting to attract a younger audience. Vickery also said that if the show was given a third series it would not air until 2015.
On 13 June 2014, it was confirmed that Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries had been commissioned for a third series. ABC renewed the series after a social media campaign run by fans of the show. The third series began shooting in mid-October 2014 in Melbourne and wrapped on 23 January 2015. Eagger told IF Magazines Emily Blatchford that all of the cast would be returning, and admitted that the writers wanted to add some magic to the series and include an episode set in the military. She also hinted that there might be a wedding. Eagger added "It's a tough time for the ABC so we are thrilled they are able to bring us back, and to have that support from Film Victoria as well." The third series began airing from 8 May 2015.
Costumes